Ecuador govt, protesters agree deal to end deadly unrest

Yahoo – AFP, Hector Velasco, Katell ABIVEN, October 14, 2019

Thousands flooded into the streets of Quito to celebrate shortly after the
deal was announced (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Quito (AFP) - Ecuador's president and indigenous leaders reached an agreement Sunday to end nearly two weeks of violent protests against austerity measures adopted to obtain a multi-billion-dollar loan from the IMF.

The demonstrations have left seven people dead and were sparked when President Lenin Moreno scrapped fuel subsidies to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund, causing prices to double.

Moreno met with Jaime Vargas, the head of the indigenous umbrella grouping CONAIE, for four hours of talks in the capital Quito broadcast live on state television.

"With this agreement, the mobilizations... across Ecuador are terminated and we commit ourselves to restoring peace in the country," said a joint statement, adding the government had withdrawn an order that removed fuel subsidies.

Thousands flooded into the streets of Quito shortly after the announcement, waving the national flag, honking horns and setting off fireworks in celebration.

News of the deal to reinstate fuel subsidies was met with joy on the streets 

of Ecuador's capital (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

The statement was read by an official from the United Nations, which mediated the talks along with the Catholic Church.

"The measures applied in all our territories are lifted," confirmed Vargas, referring to roads and oil facilities in the Amazon blocked by protesters for almost two weeks. Those actions suspended the distribution of almost 70 percent of the country's crude oil.

Indigenous groups make up a quarter of Ecuador's 17.3 million people. Thousands who had traveled from disadvantaged communities across the Amazon and the Andes to spearhead the protests in Quito, started to head home after the deal was announced.

"Indigenous brothers, I have always treated you with respect and affection," Moreno said as the talks opened. "It was never my intention to affect the poorest sectors."

The demonstrations were sparked by President Lenin Moreno scrapping fuel 

subsidies to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund (AFP 

Photo/Cristina VEGA)

Moreno had previously declared a curfew and placed Quito under military control to quell the unrest.

On Sunday, violent clashes continued before the talks began as police fought to disperse protesters who tried to put up a barricade of debris from Saturday's unrest.

Authorities said 1,349 people had been injured and 1,152 detained in the demonstrations.

The violence forced Moreno to relocate his government to Ecuador's second city, Guayaquil, and hit the oil industry hard with the energy ministry suspending more than two-thirds of its distribution of crude.

Buildings ransacked

CONAIE had previously rejected an offer of dialogue but reversed course Saturday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres earlier called on all groups "to commit to inclusive and meaningful talks, and to work in good faith towards a peaceful solution."

Authorities said 1,349 people had been injured and 1,152 detained in the 

demonstrations (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

Demonstrators on Saturday ransacked and set fire to the building housing the comptroller general's office, which was shrouded in thick smoke after being attacked with fire bombs.

The prosecutor's office said 34 people were arrested.

Protesters on Saturday also targeted a television station and a newspaper.

The Teleamazonas TV channel interrupted its regular broadcast to air images of broken windows, a burned vehicle and heavy police presence on the scene.

The station evacuated 25 employees, none of them hurt.

Nearby, protesters built barricades in front of the National Assembly building as police fired tear gas at them.

"We have nothing to do with the events at the comptroller's office and Teleamazonas," said CONAIE.

Demonstrators set up barricades near the National Assembly in Quito on 

Saturday (AFP Photo/RODRIGO BUENDIA)

El Comercio newspaper reported on Twitter that its offices were attacked by a "group of unknowns."

Protesters did not immediately heed the curfew that went into effect on Saturday, with security forces struggling to impose order in some parts of the city.

"Where are the mothers and fathers of the police? Why do they let them kill us?" cried Nancy Quinyupani, an indigenous woman.

The restrictions in Quito, a city of 2.7 million, came on top of a state of emergency Moreno had declared on October 3, deploying some 75,000 military and police and imposing a nighttime curfew in the vicinity of government buildings.

Moreno is struggling with an economic crisis that he blames on waste and corruption by Correa's administration.

Ecuador's president, protest leaders in talks to end deadly violence

Yahoo – AFP, Hector Velasco, Katell ABIVEN, October 13, 2019

A man walks amid rubble, following a 10-day protest over a fuel price hike ordered
by the government to secure an IMF loan, in Quito on October 13, 2019 (AFP Photo/
Martin BERNETTI)

Quito (AFP) - Indigenous leaders and Ecuador's president prepared Sunday for face-to-face talks after nearly two weeks of violent street protests over austerity measures instituted to obtain a multibillion dollar loan from the IMF.

As both sides geared up for negotiations in the afternoon, one indigenous leader said protesters who have converged from far away will stay in the capital Quito until some kind of agreement is reached on painful reforms such as a doubling of some fuel prices.

"Not just the leaders but the rank and file -- and we will stay until there is a solution," said Salvador Quishpe of an indigenous umbrella grouping called CONAIE.

The 12 days of rolling demonstrations have left six people dead and nearly 2,100 wounded or detained, according to authorities. Protesters on Saturday targeted a television station and a newspaper, and set fire to the comptroller general's office.

President Lenin Moreno declared a curfew and placed the city under military control to stop the unrest. On Sunday, police dispersed a group of protesters who tried to erect a barricade with debris from Saturday's violence.

View of a damaged vehicle, following a 10-day protest over a fuel price hike ordered 

by the government to secure an IMF loan, in Quito on October 13, 2019 (AFP Photo/

Cristina VEGA)

The crisis broke out in early October after Moreno ordered fuel subsidies cut as part of a deal struck by his government to obtain a $4.2 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund.

CONAIE had previously rejected an offer of dialogue but reversed course Saturday and said the talks would focus on "the repeal or revision of the decree" that has left consumers paying more than double for fuel.

"Our hope is that, God willing, today we can sit down and talk and end all this," said Quishpe, a former governor of an Amazon province.

Ecuador's indigenous groups make up a quarter of the country's 17.3 million people. Thousands from disadvantaged communities in the Amazon and the Andes have traveled to Quito where they are spearheading demands that the subsidies continue.

Media attacked

Demonstrators on Saturday ransacked and set fire to the building housing the comptroller general's office, which was shrouded in thick smoke after being attacked with fire bombs.

Ecuadorean riot policemen patrol the streets following a 10-day protest over a fuel 

price hike ordered by the government to secure an IMF loan, in Quito on October 13, 

2019 (AFP Photo/Martin BERNETTI)

The prosecutor's office said 34 people were arrested.

Nearby, protesters built barricades in front of the National Assembly building as police fired tear gas at them.

The Teleamazonas TV channel interrupted its regular broadcast to air images of broken windows, a burned vehicle and heavy police presence on the scene.

The station evacuated 25 employees, none of them hurt.

El Comercio newspaper reported on Twitter that its offices were attacked by a "group of unknowns." It did not provide further details.

"We have nothing to do with the events at the comptroller's office and Teleamazonas," said CONAIE.

Protesters did not immediately heed the curfew that went into effect at 3:00 pm (2000 GMT), with security forces still struggling to impose order in some parts of the city as night fell.

Demonstrators set up barricades near the National Assembly in Quito (AFP Photo/

RODRIGO BUENDIA)

"Where are the mothers and fathers of the police? Why do they let them kill us?" cried Nancy Quinyupani, an indigenous woman.

The restrictions in Quito, a city of 2.7 million, came on top of a state of emergency Moreno had declared on October 3, deploying some 75,000 military and police and imposing a nighttime curfew in the vicinity of government buildings.

The violence has forced Moreno to relocate his government to Ecuador's second city, Guayaquil, and has hit the oil industry hard with the energy ministry suspending more than two-thirds of its distribution of crude.

Protesters seized three oil facilities in the Amazon earlier this week.

Moreno is struggling with an economic crisis that he blames on waste and corruption by Correa's administration.

Pope blames Amazon fires on destructive 'interests'

Yahoo – AFP, Catherine MARCIANO, October 6, 2019

Representatives of the Amazon rainforest's ethnic groups attended the 

synod with Pope Francis (AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

Vatican City (AFP) - Pope Francis opened a synod on Sunday to champion the Amazon's poverty-stricken and isolated indigenous communities by condemning the destructive "interests" he blamed for the fires that devastated the region.

The three-week synod, or assembly, is to unite 184 bishops, including 113 from the nine countries of the pan-Amazon region, including Brazil.

Brazil is home to 60 percent of the world's largest rainforest, which is vital for the planet but is suffering from its worst outbreak of fires in years.

The fires, mostly caused by humans with the goal of clearing land for farming and cattle ranching, are having a grievous effect on the forest.

There is growing alarm at the deforestation of the Amazon (AFP Photo/Joao LAET)

Representatives of indigenious peoples, some with their heads adorned with coloured feathers, also gathered in Saint Peter's Square to hear the pope's inaugural mass.

"The fire set by interests that destroy, like the fire that recently devastated Amazonia, is not the fire of the Gospel," the pontiff said in his homily.

"The fire of God is warmth that attracts and gathers into unity. It is fed by sharing, not by profits.

"The fire that destroys, on the other hand, blazes up when people want to promote only their own ideas, form their own group, wipe out differences in the attempt to make everyone and everything uniform."

The way of life of the Amazon's indigenous peoples in under threat (AFP Photo/

Tiziana FABI)

'Predatory and ecocidal development'

The working document for the synod denounced in scathing terms social injustices and crimes, including murders, and suggested a Church action plan.

"Listen to the cry of 'Mother Earth', assaulted and seriously wounded by the economic model of predatory and ecocidal development... which kills and plunders, destroys and devastates, expels and discards," the 80-page document said.

The run-up to the synod saw some 260 events held in the Amazon region involving 80,000 people, in a bid to give the local populations a voice in the document.

Among those attending the synod as an observer was Sister Laura Vincuna, a missionary trying to protect the territories of the Caripuna indigenous people in the Brazilian Amazon.

Map of the Amazon used by the synod charged with protecting the rainforest 

and its inhabitants (AFP Photo/Patricio ARANA)

"Help us defend our motherland, we have no other home!" she said on Saturday.

"Earth, water, forest: without these three elements nobody can do anything".

Jose Luiz Cassupe, a member of an indigenous community from Brazil's Ronodia state, said the Brazilian government "did not keep its word".

"We are asking the world for help because we are very worried about the new mining exploration policy in the Amazon," he told AFP, wearing a headdress of indigo blue feathers.

The run-up to the synod saw hundreds of events held in the Amazon region 

in a bid to give the local populations a voice in the assembly's working document 

(AFP Photo/Tiziana FABI)

'New forms of colonialism'

Sunday's gathering comes as Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a climate-change sceptic, told the United Nations that the world's media were lying about the Amazon, and attacked indigenous leaders as tools of foreign governments.

In his 2015 encyclical on ecology and climate change "Laudato Si", Francis denounced the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest in the name of "enormous international economic interests".

Last year, the world's first Latin American pope visited Puerto Maldonado, a village in southeastern Peru surrounded by the Amazon jungle, to meet thousands of indigenous Peruvians, Brazilians and Bolivians.

That trip was the first step towards the synod which opened Sunday.

The pope warned against "the greed of new forms of colonialism" (AFP 
Photo/Tiziana FABI)

The pope in his homily also voiced regret that the Church had in the past promoted "colonisation rather than evangelisation", but warned against "the greed of new forms of colonialism".

Francis' hopes of bringing the Catholic faith to far-flung populations will also see the bishops gathered in Rome debate a highly controversial proposal -- allowing married men to become priests.

The issue deeply upsets some traditionalists, who argue that making an exception for the Amazon would open the door to the end of celibacy for priests, which is not a Church law and only dates back to the 11th century.

The German Catholic Church in particular, which has an influential progressive wing, has been hotly debating the subject.

The synod will also reflect on making official roles for women, who already play a central part in the Amazonian Church.

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Jubilation as Church of England's synod votes to allow female bishops

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after the vote to allow female bishops. Photograph: Lindsey Parnaby/AFP/Getty

"The Recalibration of Awareness – Apr 20/21, 2012 (Kryon channeled by Lee Carroll) (Subjects: Energy, Recalibration Lectures, God/Creator, Religions/Spiritual systems  (Catholic Church, Priests/Nun’s, Worship, John Paul Pope, Women in the Church otherwise church will go, Current Pope won’t do it),  Middle East, Jews, Governments will change (Internet, Media, Democracies, Dictators, North Korea, Nations voted at once), Integrity (Businesses, Tobacco Companies, Bankers/ Financial Institutes, Pharmaceutical company to collapse),  Illuminati (Started in Greece, with Shipping, Financial markets, Stock markets, Pharmaceutical money (fund to build Africa, to develop)), Shift of Human Consciousness, (Old) Souls, Women, Masters to/already come back, Global Unity.... etc.) - (Text version)

“… I gave you a channelling years ago when Pope John Paul was alive. John Paul loved Mary, the mother. Had John Paul survived another 10 years, he would have done what the next Pope [The one after the current one, Benedict XVI] will do, and that is to bring women into the Church. This Pope you have now [Benedict XVI] won't be here long.* The next Pope will be the one who has to change the rules, should he survive. If he doesn't, it will be the one after that.

There is a large struggle within the Church, even right now, and great dissention, for it knows that it is not giving what humanity wants. The doctrine is not current to the puzzles of life. The answer will be to create a better balance between the feminine and masculine, and the new Pope, or the one after that, will try to allow women to be in the higher echelon of the Church structure to assist the priests.

It will be suggested to let women participate in services, doing things women did not do before. This graduates them within church law to an equality with priests, but doesn't actually let them become priests just yet. However, don't be surprised if this begins in another way, and instead gives priests the ability to marry. This will bring the feminine into the church in other ways. It will eventually happen and has to happen. If it does not, it will be the end of the Catholic Church, for humanity will not sustain a spiritual belief system that is out of balance with the love of God and also out of balance with intuitive Human awareness.  …”

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“ … Spirituality (Religions)

Number one: Spirituality. The systems of spiritual design on your planet are starting to change. This is not telling you that certain ones are going to go away. They're simply going to change. Some of the largest spiritual systems, which you would call organized religion on the planet, are shifting. They're going to shift away from that which is authority on the outside to authority on the inside. It will eventually be a different way of worship, slowly changing the rules while keeping the basic doctrine the same.

The doctrine of the Christ has always been to find the God inside. The teachings were clear. The examples of the miracles were given as an example of what humans could do, not to set a man up for worship as a God. So when that has been absorbed, the teaching of the Christ can remain the teaching of the Christ. It simply changes the interpretation. 

The teachings of the great prophets of the Middle East (all related to each other) are about unity and love. So once the holy words are redefined with new wisdom, the Human changes, not the words of the prophets. In fact, the prophets become even more divinely inspired and their wisdom becomes even more profound.

You're going to lose a pope soon. I have no clock. Soon to us can mean anything to you. The one who replaces him may surprise you, for his particular organization will be in survival mode at that point in time. That is to say that fewer and fewer are interested in starting the priesthood. Fewer and fewer young people are interested in the organization, and the new pope must make changes to keep his church alive. That means that his organization will remain, but with a more modern look at what truly is before all of you in a new energy. It is not the fall of the church. It is instead the recalibration of the divinity inside that would match the worship that goes on. It's a win-win situation. The new pope will have a difficult time, since the old guard will still be there. There could even be an assassination attempt, such is the way the old energy dies hard. That is number one. Watch for it. It's a change in the way spiritual systems work. It's a realignment of spiritual systems that resound to a stronger truth that is Human driven, rather than prophet driven.…”

"Listening to the Voice of Spirit" (2) - Feb 20, 2016 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (DNA Efficiency is on average at 35 percent now) - (Text version)

“… With free choice, the percentage of DNA efficiently started to go down as humanity grew. As soon as the DNA started to lose percentage, the gender balance was dysfunctional. If you want to have a test of any society, anywhere on the planet, and you want to know the DNA percentage number [consciousness quota] as a society, there's an easy test: How do they perceive and treat their women? The higher the DNA functionality, the more the feminine divine is honored. This is the test! Different cultures create different DNA consciousness, even at the same time on the planet. So you can have a culture on Earth at 25 percent and one at 37 - and if you did, they would indeed clash. …”

“… You're at 35. There's an equality here, you're starting to see the dark and light, and it's changing everything. You take a look at history and you've come a long way, but it took a long time to get here. Dear ones, we've seen this process before and the snowball is rolling. There isn't anything in the way that's going to stop it. In the path of this snowball of higher consciousness are all kinds of things that will be run over and perish. Part of this is what you call "the establishment". Watch for some very big established things to fall over! The snowball will simply knock them down. …”

Giant telescope project in Hawaii delayed by protests

Yahoo – AFP, Laurent BANGUET, September 28, 2019

Mauna Kea is volcano is sacred to Native Hawaiians (AFP Photo)

Los Angeles (AFP) - Anger is brewing on the Big Island of Hawaii over plans to build a giant telescope on a dormant volcano that is highly sacred to the region's native population.

For months, hundreds of protesters have delayed the start of construction on Mauna Kea volcano of the so-called Thirty Meter Telescope, or TMT, which astronomers say will have a dozen times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope.

The demonstrators, who have converged on the site peacefully, argue that the $1.4 billion project would sit on a volcano that is sacred to Native Hawaiians and would harm the environment.

Celebrities like Dwayne Johnson, Jason Momoa and Bruno Mars have lent their support to the protesters.

"What I realized today, and obviously I've been following this for years now, is that it's bigger than a telescope," Johnson, who lived in Hawaii as a child, reportedly said when he visited the site earlier this summer.

"It's humanity. It's culture," he said.

Work on the project -- set to be completed by 2027 -- was supposed to start in 2015 but has been hampered by repeated protests.

"Construction has been delayed for years because of this situation," Christophe Dumas, a French astronomer and head of operations at TMT, told AFP. "The cost has also risen significantly... and the process to obtain a construction permit lasted 10 years."

The central region of the Trifid Nebula is shown in this photo taken by the Gemini 

North 8-meter Telescope on Mauna Kea (AFP Photo/GEMINI OBSERVATORY)

Protest leaders say the consortium of scientists behind the project can build their scope on a less controversial site, including on a mountain in Spain's Canary Islands, where they say it would be a win-win situation for everyone.

Dumas argues, however, that Mauna Kea "remains the ideal site" in the Northern Hemisphere because of its altitude -- 13,796 feet (4,205 meters) above sea level -- as well as its remoteness and clear skies which make it one of the best places on the planet for astronomical observatories.

The new telescope, according to scientists, would enable astronomers to see "forming galaxies at the very edge of the observable universe, near the beginning of time."

Already, Mauna Kea, which means White Mountain, is home to 13 telescopes housed in 12 facilities at or around the summit, which have been the source of a host of new discoveries and scientific studies.

Some question whether one more telescope -- albeit a giant one -- would make such a big difference.

The answer is a resounding "yes" from opponents.

'Enough is enough'

"I talked to the leaders of the opposition and they made it real clear that not only is it too big, but it's just one too many," said Greg Chun, executive director of Mauna Kea stewardship at the University of Hawaii. "They tell me we have shared this mountain long enough. Enough is enough."

He said Native Hawaiians have repeatedly expressed concerns about the development of the mountain but their complaints have, for the most part, fallen on deaf ears.

Visitors look at a scaled down model of the Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) on display 

during a science exhibition in Bangalore in July 2019 (AFP Photo/Manjunath Kiran)

Scientists began flocking to Mauna Kea after a tsunami in 1960 devastated communities along the base of the volcano and local authorities, in a bid to revive the economy, began a drive to attract astronomers.

"From the very beginning, the development of astronomy has raised concerns about the development of the mountain," Chun said. "So it's not something new."

But many observers say the Mauna Kea debate goes beyond just a telescope and reflects deep-seated resentment by some Native Hawaiians over past abuses and the legacy of colonialism in the Hawaiian islands.

Jonathan Osorio, an expert on Hawaiian culture and a longtime opponents of the planned telescope, insists that he and fellow protesters are not opposed to science but they object to telescopes being built on sacred land.

Dumas for his part argues that the telescope is being used as a tool to pressure authorities to seek more autonomy for the native population.

"The telescope would not sit atop the mountain and will be visible from only a small section (14 percent) of the island," he said.

He said his team has gone to great lengths to respect local custom and tradition but the project now needs to urgently get off the ground.

"We can't wait much longer and the next few weeks are going to be critical," he said.

Melting snowcaps spell water trouble for world's highest capital

Yahoo – AFP, José Arturo CÁRDENAS, September 19, 2019

The Incachaca dam, which supplies the city of La Paz, Bolivia with water,
is seen September 12, 2019 (AFP Photo/AIZAR RALDES)

La Paz (AFP) - Water resources are running dry in the world's highest-elevation capital due to the combined effect of the Andean glaciers melting, drought and mismanagement.

But instead of surrendering, the locals in Bolivia's capital La Paz are finding new ways to tackle the changing climate.

The sky-high metropolitan area's 2.7 million people have already been jolted by climate change: a severe drought that lasted for several months from 2016 into 2017 was Bolivia's worst in 25 years, leading to water rationing and widespread protests in several cities.

In a sign of possibly worse to come, the Andean snowcaps -- which have been relied on to fill the city's reservoirs -- are disappearing at a rate that has alarmed scientists.

In a gray and misty Valle de las Flores district in the east of the city, people are beginning to adapt to disappearing water resources.

There, Juana and her colleague Maria wash clothes for a living at a municipal wash-house, which is fed by spring water.

Public wash-houses -- where the water is free -- are becoming more popular, as residents change their habits around water use, getting their laundry done and escaping rising water charges.

"It's true that there are more people coming here than ever before," since water started to become more scarce, said Juana, as the women scrubbed and wrung-out garments for a fee of 20 bolivianos, or around $3 per dozen items.

A woman washes clothes at a municipal laundry, which uses spring water to 

conserve the public distribution system's water, in La Paz September 12, 2019 

(AFP Photo/AIZAR RALDES)

In some neighborhoods, locals have become accustomed to storing rainwater in cisterns, ready for when the dry season comes.

The severe drought that lasted from November 2016 to February 2017 was blamed on the combined effects of the El Nino weather cycle, poor water management and climate change.

Leftist President Evo Morales declared a "state of national emergency" and tens of thousands of people in La Paz faced imposed water rationing for the first time, while surrounding mountains that were once covered in snow turned brown and barren.

The measures were expanded to at least seven other cities, and in the countryside, farmers clashed with miners over the use of aquifers.

Disappearing glaciers

As part of a contingency plan, Morales doubled down by embarking on a vast investment program in a bid to ensure future water supplies.

According to recent data from the national water company EPSAS, the government has spent $64.7 million (58.7 million euros) to construct four water reservoirs and supply systems from the lagoons of the surrounding Andean highlands.

The new systems will in part ease reliance on the Inkachaka, Ajunkota and Hampaturi dams that have until now supplied drinking water to around one-third of La Paz's population.

The drought had left the dams almost completely depleted, resembling open-cast mines, and they took months to recover ample water levels.

The Andes Mountains in Bolivia, the melt-off of which flows to the Incachaca dam, 

which supplies the city of La Paz with water, is seen September 12, 2019 

(AFP Photo/AIZAR RALDES)

Patricia Urquieta, an urban planning specialist at the University Mayor de San Andres, says that despite the hardships it brought, the drought did not lead to an increased collective awareness of the need to manage water resources.

Once water restrictions were lifted "this awareness of the need to preserve water fizzled out," said Urquieta.

"There has beeen no public policy to raise awareness about water usage, even though reports show that La Paz could end up without water because of the decrease of water in the moutains," she said.

UNESCO introduced an "Atlas on the retreat of Andean glaciers and the reduction of glacial waters" to map the effects of global warming in 2018.

It said "global warming could cause the loss of 95 percent of the current permafrost in Bolivia by 2050, and 99 percent by 2099."

A recent study published in the scientific journal Nature, citing analysis of satellite images, reported that "the Andean glaciers are among those that shrink the fastest".

Between 2000 and 2018, the glaciers lost an average of 23 billion tonnes of ice a year, according to Nature.

The Incachaca dam, which supplies the city of La Paz, Bolivia with water and 

took a hit after a 2016-2017 drought, is seen in La Paz September 12, 2019

(AFP Photo/AIZAR RALDES)

"When the glaciers disappear, they will no longer be able to provide water during the dry season," said Sebastien Hardy, who is studying the local glaciers for the French Institute for Research and Development.

The Chacaltaya glacier –- once the world’s highest ski resort -- has already disappeared. Scientists said the glacier started to melt in the mid-1980s. By 2009, it had vanished.

The Inkachaka dam, a few miles outside the La Paz, is currently more than half-full, fed by snowfalls during the austral winter.

But the year-round snowcaps on nearby mountains, visible as recently as 30 years ago, no longer exist.

Related Articles:

"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

"2013 - What Now ?" – Jan 6, 2013 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Text version)

“… New ideas are things you never thought of. These ideas will be given to you so you will have answers to the most profound questions that your societies have had since you were born. Inventions will bring clean water to every Human on the planet, cheaply and everywhere. Inventions will give you power, cheaply and everywhere. These ideas will wipe out all of the reasons you now have for pollution, and when you look back on it, you'll go, "This solution was always there. Why didn't we think of that? Why didn't we do this sooner?" Because it wasn't time and you were not ready. You hadn't planted the seeds and you were still battling the old energy, deciding whether you were going to terminate yourselves before 2012. Now you didn't…. and now you didn't.

It's funny, what you ponder about, and what your sociologists consider the "great current problems of mankind", for your new ideas will simply eliminate the very concepts of the questions just as they did in the past. Do you remember? Two hundred years ago, the predictions of sociologists said that you would run out of food, since there wasn't enough land to sustain a greater population. Then you discovered crop rotation and fertilizer. Suddenly, each plot of land could produce many times what it could before. Do you remember the predictions that you would run out of wood to heat your homes? Probably not. That was before electricity. It goes on and on.

So today's puzzles are just as quaint, as you will see. (1)How do you strengthen the power grids of your great nations so that they are not vulnerable to failure or don't require massive infrastructure improvement expenditures? Because cold is coming, and you are going to need more power. (2) What can you do about pollution? (3) What about world overpopulation? Some experts will tell you that a pandemic will be the answer; nature [Gaia] will kill off about one-third of the earth's population. The best minds of the century ponder these puzzles and tell you that you are headed for real problems. You have heard these things all your life.

Let me ask you this. (1) What if you could eliminate the power grid altogether? You can and will. (2) What if pollution-creating sources simply go away, due to new ideas and invention, and the environment starts to self-correct? (3) Overpopulation? You assume that humanity will continue to have children at an exponential rate since they are stupid and can't help themselves. This, dear ones, is a consciousness and education issue, and that is going to change. Imagine a zero growth attribute of many countries - something that will be common. Did you notice that some of your children today are actually starting to ponder if they should have any children at all? What a concept! ….”