Beginning at NYU in Jan 2013 within the context of a Patents Translation course delivered online, this blog seeks to uncover the patents that rock our daily lives....
The National Dictionary Center, at the Australian National University (ANU), selected 'strollout' as the 2021 Word of the Year (WOTY). The neologism refers to how slow the vaccine rollout unfolded in Australia. The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) Secretary, Sally McManus, is credited as the person who coined the term 'strollout' to express the frustration of Australians, who saw vaccines as a 'path to freedom' from 'lockdowns', and the constraints of the 'new normal' (Burnside, Nov. 16, 2021).
In keeping with the mission of the ANU National Dictionary Center, which is to conduct research on Australian English, and to advise the Oxford University Press on matters of Australian English, the ANU National Dictionary Center, was motivated to select the WOTY 'strollout' as a uniquely Australian term, of considerable local frequency. A selection criterion that contrasts with the overriding high-frequency criteria, usually invoked to select WOTTIES. In sum, the term 'strollout' was selected as an Australian English WOTY, within the state of the 2021 global pandemic context, which has had such a massive planetary effect, including on language use.
The COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact, approved by 200 nations, reaffirmed the 2015 Paris Agreement commitment to keep global warming well below 2 degrees Celsius, and
to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels [Section IV, paragraph (20)]. A reaffirmed commitment, despite the parties' expressed “alarm and concern” [I(3)] that global warming
had already reached 1.1 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level.
Consistent
with the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report, the Climate Pact recognizes that the consequences of climate change
will be far less at 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial temperatures, than those at 2 degrees Celsius.Thus, the Climate Pact calls for a 45%
decrease in global carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 [IV(22)], in order to achieve
net-zero (1) by 2050. The Climate Pact also calls for deep cuts in other sorts of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, such as
methane, inviting nations to further reduce their emissions by 2030 [IV(37)].
For the first time in history, the UNFCCC Climate Pact explicitly addressed "the elephant in the room", setting forth a controversial ‘phasing out” of coal and fossil fuels, held primarily responsible for global warming. Despite opposition from developing nations, who are relying on coal for development, and large producers of coal, who would prefer to see “phasing-down”, the Climate Pact [IV(36)]:
"Calls upon Parties to accelerate the development, deployment and dissemination of technologies, and the adoption of policies, to transition towards low-emission energy systems […] including accelerating efforts towards the phase out of unabated coal power and inefficient fossil fuel subsidies” [italics mine].
An unprecedented call that is mindfully un-dissociated from both the concept of climate justice, specifiedin the preamble, an the need for just transition to clean energy (specified in several instances: [IV(32)], [IV(36)] and [VII(85)].
The Glasgow Climate Pact also “Urges developed country Parties to at least double their collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing country Parties from 2019 levels by 2025” [III(18)]", while noting subsequently with “deep regret” the failure of developing nations to meet the Paris Agreement goal of jointly mobilizing 100 billion USD per year by the year 2020 [V(44)]. Funding to have been provided to developing nations, for the purposes of mitigating the effects of climate change, for which developed countries are held responsible. Thus, the Climate Pact also urges developed nations to renew their commitment, in view of fully delivering on their Paris Agreement promises of 100 billion USD per year through to the later date of 2025, while calling for more clarity and specificity on each of the nation’s pledges in this regard [V(45)]. The Climate Pact also explicitly calls for financial flows to urgently support pathways to low-emissions and climate-resistant development, within the context of the UN sustainable development program, and the eradication of poverty [V(54)].
The Climate Pact also includes a whole section VI on Loss and Damages, already incurred as a result of climate change. In this regard,
the Santiago Network (2), is to be provided with
funding for the purposes of further addressing,
averting, minimizing, supporting and compensating climate-related Loss and
Damages [VI(67)].
A Climate Pact that concludes with a section VIII, re-iterating the welcomed collaboration between Parties (i.e. nations) and Civil Society, including explicit mention of indigenous people, local and regional communities, women, youth, and other Non-Party Stakeholders. A Climate Pact where the final paragraph places a contingency on all the climate action specified, based on the availability of financial resources [VIII(97)].
Disappointing for those who believe the urgency of the situation, and see the pact as not enough to avert the disastrous consequences of climate change; heralded as a breakthrough by others (e.g., Aljazeera, Nov 14, 2021; Jordans, AP New Nov. 13, 2021; Rathi & Shankleman, Nov. 13, 2021). The final word on the UNFCCC COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact was spoken by António Guterres, Secretary-General to the United Nations:
The COP26 outcome is a compromise, reflecting the interests, contradictions & state of political will in the world today. It's an important step, but it's not enough. It's time to go into emergency mode. The climate battle is the fight of our lives & that fight must be won. (Guterres, Nov. 13, 2021)
Indeed, if the Secretary-General spoke the truth at the conclusion of COP 26, then the Climate Pact compromise is short on delivering all the hope and possibilities expressed in Sir David Attenborough's spirited send-off address, on Nov. 1, 2021, at COP 26, in Glasgow, UK.
Notes (1) "Net-zero refers to a state in which the greenhouse gases going into the atmosphere are balanced by removal out of the atmosphere." (Net Zero Climate)
(2) The Santiago Network, previously set forth during COP25, in Madrid, under the presidency of Chile, was designed to bring together multiple parties for technical assistance, in connection with reports of climate-related loss and damages, occurring particularly in developing and vulnerable countries. The Santiago Network is accessible via the UNFCCC portal (Santiago Network, UNFCCC).
References
Aljazeera Staff (Nov 14, 2021). Betrayal of people planet: World reacts to COP Climate Pact.
The most dramatic intervention at COP26 was the pre-recorded speech of the Minister of Justice, Communications, and Foreign Affairs, Simon Kofe of the Pacific Island nation of Tuvalu. The Minister spoke, knee-deep in the waters, rising around the Island nation of Tuvalu. Waters threatening the existence of Tuvalu's population of 12,000, with no hope of ever-receding, as a direct consequence of climate change. Kofe stated:
Kofe, S.(Nov. 8, 2021). Pre-recorded video address, delivered on the occasion the UNFCCC COP26 meeting in Glasgow, UK, Nov. 1-12, 2021. https://youtu.be/icbyIsXi1RM
Early October 2021, Stella McCartney
took the runways of the Paris Fashion Week by storm with a Spring 2022 collection,
celebrating sustainable mycelium fashion (Friedman, Oct. 5, 2021), aka patented recombinant mushroom technologies.
Scroll forward to COP26 in Glasgow UK, and the hottest cruelty-free House of
British fashion was also present, exhibiting: The Future of Fashion. A showcase of fashion
innovation powered with such sustainable
patented technologies as Mylo™ leather and Microsilk™ (Mitchie, 2021). An exhibit that brought together the fashion industry, responsible for an estimated 18% of GHG, into sharp
focus.
Indeed, lab-grown mycellium and silk thread
technologies have a much smaller carbon footprint. A smaller footprint compared to the millions of animals in cattle ranching, whose hides are used to manufacture shoes, accessories and apparel; or compared to the use of
silkworms, and the impossible use of spiders.
More deeply, however, lab-grown Mylo™
leather and Microsilk™ are 100% cruelty-free,
the hallmark of Stella McCartney fashion (Stella McCartney). A truly synergistic hallmark that brings together climate change,
sustainability, ethical treatment of animals, and the best of the fashion world,
all under a single banner.
The fashion industry’s commitment “to
net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 in line with keeping global warming below 1.5
degrees Celsius”, consistent with the provisions of the UNFCCC(1) 2015 Paris Agreement, was initially set forth in the UNFCCC 2018 Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action, launched during COP24 in Katowice,
Poland. However, as Stella McCartney pointed out in an
interview on Nov 4th 2021 with CNN, the fashion industry is “the
most unfashionable” in terms of sustainability, as it still lags far behind
with no regulations in sight for monitoring emissions, setting deadlines,
implementing accountability, or for supplying incentives for change.
A viewpoint that appears largely shared by other fashion
industry leaders, since according to Vogue, the COP26 Fashion Charter event resulted not
only in additional signatories to the existing group of 130 brands(2), but also
a renewed commitment to more concrete, more ambitious, and much stronger action
in view of achieving the goals set forth in the 2015 Paris Agreement on climate
action (Chan, 2021). Tighter control, such as phasing out coal from tiers one and two
suppliers by 2030, and no new coal by 2050, or requiring brands to submit plans
for climate action. A COP26 takeaway in
the form of an amended UNFCCC Fashion Charter for Climate Action, considering that, according to The Global Fashion Agenda the Fashion industry’s emissions, at their
current pace, are set to rise to 2.7
billion tons by 2030, which is double
the amount required to keep climate warming below the 1.5 degrees (Fashion on Climate Report, 2020).
The patented
technologies driving Stella McCartney's Future of Fashion include Mylo™ leather, and Microsilk™, both produced by the California Bay Area company
Bolt Threads. Leather that meets the Stella McCartney criteria of “ cruelty-free
alternatives that look and feel luxurious and have [in this case] an environmental impact that is up to 24 times
lower than animal leathers.[ilalics mine]" (Stella McCartney). Likewise, Microsilk™ is a vegan product, made entirely from yeast, sugar and DNA, with high tensile strength, softness, elasticity
and durabulity, fabricated using green chemistry practices to minimize the environmental
footprint.
Indeed, according to Stella McCartney, there are no sacrifices in The Future of Fashion. Quite the contrary, when technology, ethics and sustainability are
synched, The Future of Fashion is invigorated, and more stunning than ever, as evidenced in the included clip of the Stella McCartney Spring 2022 show (Cohn, 2021).
Imagine now what might happen, considering that the fashion Houses of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Givenchy, Celine, Loewe, Fendi, Marc Jacobs, and the like of luxury and prestige, belonging to the LVMH group, are all on board (i.e.; signatories) for climate action!
Notes
(1) UNFCCC - United Nations Framework on Climate Change Convention. (UN on Climate Change)
(2) The LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton)conglomerate which groups 75 luxury Houses such as Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Givenchy,
Kenzo and Fendi signed on to the Charter.
The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) selected the term "vax", short for vaccine, as the 2021 Word Of The Year (WOTY). The term vax not
only increased frequency of usage by 72% compared to 2019, vaxxes no doubt saved humanity from
extinction during the COVID 19 pandemic. Indeed, as of Nov. 1, 2021, according to the WHO Dashboards, the SARS-COV2 pandemic killed almost 5 million people worldwide, including 750,000 in the
US alone (NYTimes COVID 19 Maps).
With synonyms
jab,shot orFauci-Ouchi, the term vax (noun and verb) inflects with a double “ x “
as in “ vaxxed” or “anti-vaxxer”. Neologisms associated with the term
include such items as:
vaxxie (n): selfie taken while getting a COVID -19 vaccination (Urban Dictionary).
vaxinista (n): person who gets the vaccine, and flaunts it with high-end shopping, trips and parties (Urban Dictionary).
vax(x)(i)cation (n): after getting vaccinated, vacation taken without wearing a mask in 2021 (Urban Dictionary).
vax-a-thon (n): administration of a record number of jabs at a dedicated event.
vaxxident (n) (unrelated to chewing-gum): post-vaccine automobile accident on roadways, caused by mini-strokes and blood clots in the brain(Urban Dictionary).
On the occasion of the OED WOTY 2021 announcement, Oxford Languages also released a Report into the language of vaccines. Oxford Languages claims that "no word better captures the atmosphere of the past year than vax."
Beginning October 31st, and for the next 12 days, the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) to the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting for the Parties to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol(CMP16), and the Conference of the Parties serving as Meeting for the Parties to the more recent 2015 Paris
Agreement (CMA3), will be meeting to discuss urgent topics, to review existing commitments and targets, and to secure more international, national and local pledges on the matter of climate change, at a time variously
qualified as humanity’s “last best hope” (Jordans, 2021), “a critical moment for leadership” (Hitchings-Hale, 2021) and "one minute before midnight on the Doomsday Clock” (Johnson, 2021). A conference bringing together more than 30,000 delegates, with representatives from 200 countries, including 120 world leaders. Indeed, a summit on the topic of climate change with an agenda, including the following:
finalizing the Rulebook for the (controversial) flex-mex carbon exchange market
increasing investments in clean
energy sources
increasing joint action of the private
and public sectors for accelerating the implementation ofmitigation and/or resiliency plans
reforestation, planting trillions of trees
elimination of coal power plants
conversion to electric vehicles
(EV)
securing rich nation grants (vs.
loans) within the context of the 2015 Paris Agreement on an annual pledge of
100 billion USD for nations who are not responsible for the anthropogenic causes
of climate change [UNFCCC - Paris Agreement]
detailing the costs and implementation of a “just transition” within
the context of a global “Green New Deal” to a clean (non-fossil fuel) and sustainable
economy, considering that visionary Labor Union leaders have endorsed the
conversion, and the workforces of whole sectors of the fossil fuel industry (coal in particular) are
implicated (Chomsky & Pollan in Polychroniou, 2021, Chomsky & Pollan with Polychronou, 2021).
developing resiliency plans,
considering that the consequences of climate change are already causing drought, famine and floods, impacting
millions of people, creating a new category of refugees, designated climate refugees(UNHCR,)
compensating and remedying existing climate-related losses and damages, per the African Youth Climate Leader, from Burundi, Vanessa Nakate.
"turning the tide on coal, cash, cars and trees" (Johnson, 2021); panic, action, and no more empty promises, to mitigate and remedy the catastrophic scenarios of global warming that science has already specified, per the Swedish Global Youth Leader Greta Thunberg, on behalf of future generations, who might inherit irremediable situations.
Concretely, however, the new Glasgow COP
26 Summit takeaway will, at least, result in a sector-specific Declaration on Climate Change in the Tourism Industry. A Declaration bringing together members
of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), in an effort to scale up efforts
to control the tourism sector’s emissions, which are predicted to increase 25%
by 2030 (from 2016 levels). Specifically, the working session draft of the Glasgow Declaration calls for:
monitoring of the CO2 emissions from tourism operations
decarbonizing tourism with greener
transportation and infrastructures
removing carbon
promoting science-based targets in
view of meeting the Paris Agreement targets, which call for cutting emissions
back 50% by 2030 and achieving net zero(1) by 2050, to prevent global warming in
excess of 1.5 degrees Celsius, above pre-industrial levels (per the recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC ).
setting forth the One planet Sustainable Tourism Programme
to host the Tourism Section action plan. A program designed to implement transition to a circular economy, invoking recycling, reusing, repairing,
refurbishing, remanufacturing, and repurposing to reduce waste and pollution,
and as a pathway to sustainable development. The creation of a circular economy to bring added value, to promote creativity
and new business models, with efficient use of water and resources. A program
also arising within the context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG),
in particular Goals No. 13, 14 and 15 on climate action, and the protection of
marine and terrestrial ecosystems (UNDP - SDGs).
promoting Sustainable Consumption
and Production (SCP) in tourism policies
supporting global tourism initiatives
against plastic pollution
supporting green travel
promoting sustainable recovery
from COVID 19, according to 6 lines of action (UNWTO- Climate action).
The COP26 conference is taking place
at the Scottish Event Center(SEC) campus, in Glasgow, Scotland (UK), a location
that has become as much a transformative architectural landmark. as it is
currently a destination for crucially
important Climate Change action. For example, the monumental 3000-seat Clyde Auditorium, known
as the Armadillo because of its eight, overlapping, aluminum-clad roofs, was inaugurated in 1997,
specifically as a highly distinctive site, that still remained efficient and
easily maintained. On a shipyard location, the scale of the Armadillo is that
of a large ship or warehouse. Together with
the other monumental conference venue building, designated the OVO Hydro, with a capacity for
13,000 patrons, the site offers special synergy for the twelve conference days
ahead.
(1) Definition for Net-zero: Net-zero emissions
are achieved when anthropogenic
emissions of greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere are
balanced by anthropogenic
removals over a specified period. [IPCC Report Glossary]
References
Chomsky, N. & R. Pollan (with C.J. Polychroniou) (2021). Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal. London, UK & Brooklyn, NY: Verso Books.
De La Garza, A.,
Nugent, C., Baker, A., Duggan, J. and C. Wilson (Oct
28,2021). Here Are the Goals of the COP26 Climate Change Meetings—and Where the
World Stands in Accomplishing Them. Time
Magazine https://tinyurl.com/jekhcmyd
Hitchings-Hales, J. (Aug. 16, 2021).What Is COP26 — and Why Is the
Summit a Critical Moment For Leadership on the Climate Crisis? Global Citizenhttps://tinyurl.com/3xne33sk
Polychroniou, C. J. (Oct. 28, 2021). Chomsky and Pollin: COP26
Pledges Will Fail Unless Pushed by Mass Organizing. Truthout https://tinyurl.com/2dhptbyn
Rapold, N. (Nov. 12, 2020). ‘I am Greta’ review: Birth of a Climate Warrior. NYTimes. https://tinyurl.com/hbadkuf4
Available in
an array of sizes, finishes and colors, the Balenciaga Hourglass top handle handbag, with a removable and adjustable, crossbody strap, is a patented design. The US Design
patent, USD904014S, titledHandbag,was awarded to Demna Gvasalia, and assigned to Balenciaga, on December
8th, 2020.
The handbag’s
designation ’Hourglass’ comes from the curvilinear, hourglass-shaped, bottom of the handbag. The "B" clasp of the marketed handbag is unpatented.
Below, the patent Figures 1, 3, 4, 6 and 8 are included, respectively depicting: a front left perspective view of the handbag (Fig. 1), a top view (Fig. 3), and bottom-up view (Fig. 4), a right side view (Fig. 6), and a rearview (Fig. 8).Also included below, four marketed, top handle, Hourglass Balenciaga handbags, small models (L9 x W5.9 x H3.9 inches), in forest green, dark red, navy, and black, shiny crocodile-embossed calfskin, with brass hardware, and the adjustable, removable, crossbody strap, measuring 21.6 inches.
