By Selva Ozelli
It is Plastic Free July. The campaign originated in Australia to draw attention to the global problem of plastic waste, resulting in the world’s first Plastic Treaty that is still being negotiated by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee on Plastics Pollution.
“The treaty presents a crucial opportunity to tackle plastic pollution from a fresh perspective and adopt innovative problem-solving methods. We are hopeful that the treaty will introduce novel solutions and align policies that have proven effective” explained Betsy Bowers, Executive Director of the Global EPS Sustainability Alliance (GESA).
The Impact of Plastic Waste on Nature
Plastic pollution is causing serious problems for animals, nature, and people’s health.
Drawing attention to this are several environmental artists with physical and digital art shows around the world. These artists during the fall will also be part of Climate Week NY’s Pink and Blue Art Show held at Howland Cultural Center Beacon, NY from Aug 10 to Sep 29, 2024.
- UN Ocean Decade Tides of Change Waves of Hope Art Show at Art on the Ave NYC at Fulton Center New York City – April 1 to July 6, 2024
Internationally acclaimed photographers Ian Hutton from the Lord Howe Island Australia, Zinnia Gutowski from the Philippines/US, and Alfons Rodriguez from Spain and award winning oil painters Selva Ozelli from the US Semine Hazar, Fatma Kadir and Ihan Sayin from Turkiye draw attention to the impact of plastic pollution on sea slugs, water birds and whales with their work on exhibit to the public at Fulton Center New York.
Waves & Tides
According to a study by Alexander L. Bond , Ian Hutton and Jennifer L. Lavers
plastic production and pollution of the environment is rising rapidly and outpacing current mitigation measures. The temporal changes in the amount and composition of plastic in boluses from Flesh-footed Shearwaters during 2002–2020 showed a generally decreasing pattern from 2002 to 2015 and increasing again to 2020 which suggests shearwater boluses to be a low-effort, high-statistical power monitoring tool for quantifying progress against environmental policies in Australia.
How plastic litter is killing wildlife on Lord Howe Island by Ian Hutton and Jennifer L. Lavers:
- Healing Hudson Art Show by Selva Ozelli for the Putnam History Museum Coldspring, NY June 8 to Sep 30, 2024
Artist Selva Ozelli with her Healing Hudson Art Show for Putnam History Museum draws attention to the impact of plastic pollution on sea/harbor animals who live in the Hudson River and often eat microplastics which contains toxic chemicals, that can increase the chance of disease and affect reproduction. According to
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) Fisheries marine plastic debris also entangles at least 260 marine species, including marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds so if you see a sea animal strangled in plastic let NOAA Fisheries know.
Healing Hudson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tt5Mju8H1wM&t=26s
Healing Hudson – Darter Fish: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6IA0Td_kHw
- Eco Water Pollution Art Show by photographer Mene Liondos, Greece April 1 to Dec 31, 2024
Photographer Mene Liondos from Greece with his art show Eco Water Pollution is focused on plastic pollution in the Ocean:
- Moody Blue Crabs Art Show by Selva Ozelli for the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum June 8 to Dec 31, 2024
Artist Selva Ozelli with her art show Moody Blue Crabs Art Show for the Havre de Grace Maritime Museum draws attention to the impact on microplastic pollution on Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus) which are susceptible to this pollution because they feed in sediment where dense plastics accumulate. According to a study by Ashley Velzis, Sarah Davis, Andrew Davies, & Coleen Suckling of the University of Rhode Island
the majority of microfibers and the foreign microplastics are concentrated in the claws of the crabs. Since Blue Crab claw meat is widely consumed, the potential transfer of microplastics to humans should be considered in future studies.
Moody Blue Crabs:
Lyvely a NFT Platform for Digital Art Shows
With the popularization of Non Fungible Token’s (NFT) during the corona pandemic, holding art shows physically in museums and subway stations is not the only way to draw attention to environmental matters like the impact of plastic pollution on nature via art.
Dave Catudal, Co-founder and CXO of Lyvely, a SocialFi platform that enables artists and content creators to monetize through micro-communities, said, “We started Lyvely last year ($LVLY token/NFT launch during Q4 2024), after witnessing many of our friends and family lose their livelihoods for a period of time during the pandemic lockdowns. It was clear to us that those without a digital presence were vulnerable to variable economic conditions, and we wanted to create a global platform that provided unmatched opportunities for people to generate revenue and get paid for doing what they love.
To do this, we had to fix what is broken with traditional social media when it comes to monetization opportunities. Our vision is to fuse DeFi features with the familiar UX of a web2 platform, to effectively bridge the gap between user convenience and more lucrative earning opportunities.
Lyvely offers a suite of creator tools and features, such as live stream selling and shopping, adding to our community and memberships feature, and building an advertising and affiliates program where we connect brands and creators within our platform for paid collaborations. We’re also adding more gamified engagement features to enhance the creator/user dynamic. Our goal is to empower creators by providing them with their own digital HQ, where they can think more entrepreneurial and use Lyvely as their launchpad for building a successful online brand and business.
Lyvely currently has over 15,000 creators and users from different segments including artists, coaches, musicians, podcast hosts, and a lot of wellness enthusiasts who are looking for a more personalized ecosystem for their audience. Since our platform is designed to cater to both emerging and established creators in web2 and web3, we’re excited to bring the two worlds together in a single ecosystem, where our $LVLY token/NFT will have practical utility for both creators and those who support them and consume their content.“
NFT Tax Reporting Regulations for Digital Asset Brokers Finalized in the US
On June 28, 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued final digital asset broker reporting regulations that mandate broker reporting for centralized exchanges and hosted wallet providers, providing extensive rules under which transactions in digital assets which include NFTs will be reported In the US. But it set aside related rules for decentralized finance (DeFi) and unhosted wallets as it continues to study 44,000 comments to the agency. DeFi operations and non-hosted wallet providers will have to wait for their own rules later in the year
The final regulations will go into effect for transactions starting in 2025 and will require digital asset brokers to keep tabs on cost basis for customers’ tokens starting in 2026 requiring them to file 1099-DA forms like their traditional investment-firm cousins with a $600 annual threshold on NFT proceeds before they need to be reported.
Miles Fuller, Senior Director of Government Relations at TaxBit said “The release of the final Treasury regulations is a huge milestone for the industry. The implementation of information reporting for digital assets is a massive step forward in reducing the tax compliance burden on individuals operating in this ecosystem. It is also a key step in closing the estimated $50 billion crypto tax gap and will further legitimize digital assets here in the US.
The final regulations provide businesses with needed clarity about their reporting obligations while also creating transparency for both taxpayers and the IRS when it comes to tax filing and compliance. Taxpayers will now know what they need to report for activity conducted with a digital asset broker and the IRS will know what to expect to see on tax returns.” Defi platform Lyvely spokesperson indicated that the finalized regulations are not relevant to Lyvely.
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