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A bald eagle chick inside a nest in Rutland, Massachusetts. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife
A bald eagle nest with eggs has been discovered in Cape Cod for the first time in 115 years, according to the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (Mass Wildlife), as Newsweek reported.
<p><br/></p>
<p>That nest is part of a dramatic uptick in the number of active nests, with more than 70 spotted this spring, according to a post on the Mass Wildlife website, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. While spotting active nests is not rare, one with eggs is. Also, for the first time, there is a documented case of eagles nesting on nearby Martha's Vineyard.</p><p>The 1905 nest with eggs was in the town of Sandwich.</p><p>On its website, Mass Wildlife said the population of bald eagles is soaring this season. The birds are currently in the middle of their nesting season, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>.</p>
<p>The return of bald eagles is a testament to the strength of the Endangered Species Act, since the birds have recovered from the brink of extinction. Bald eagles recently improved from threatened to special concern on the Massachusetts Endangered Species Act list thanks to successful <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> measures. Mass Wildlife embarked on an eagle reintroduction program in the 1980s that has led to an uptick in the population of bald eagles in the New England area, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/28/us/bald-eagles-massachusetts-scn-trnd/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>A bald eagle that hatched in Massachusetts holds the record for the oldest bald eagle in New Hampshire. The eagle, which was photographed in New Hampshire this spring, was identified by banding records as a 23-year-old male that hatched in Ware, Massachusetts, in 1997, according to <a href="https://www.wcvb.com/article/bald-eagle-nest-with-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-massachusetts-for-first-time-in-105-years-officials-say/32692454" target="_blank">WCVB</a>, Boston's ABC News affiliate.</p>
<p>While bald eagles are no longer on the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> list, they are still <a href="https://www.fws.gov/midwest/eagle/history/protections.html" target="_blank">protected under multiple federal laws</a>, including the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.</p><p>However, their new found strength could spell trouble for other birds.</p><p>In one example, Mass Wildlife said, "[a]n eagle pair took over an osprey nest and were incubating eggs when the ospreys returned from their wintering grounds. The osprey pair that most likely built the nest harassed the incubating eagle who would flip upside down with its talons in the air in defense. Eventually the eagle cracked the eggs doing this, and this historic nesting attempt failed."</p>
<p>In another example, "[t]wo other eagle nests on the mainland have also failed as a result of an intruding eagle invading the territory and killing the chicks in the nest."</p><p>"Although difficult for observers to witness, these events are all signs of a thriving eagle population in Massachusetts," MassWildlife said, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bald-eagle-nest-eggs-spotted-on-cape-cod-for-the-first-time-in-115-years/" target="_blank">CBS News</a> reported. "On the upside, more and more people across the Commonwealth are experiencing the thrill of seeing eagles in their own neighborhoods as these birds continue to expand their range to urban and suburban landscapes."</p><p>Bald eagles build the largest nests of any bird in North America. Mating pairs build their nests in winter months and then return to them every year to add to the nest.</p><p>The species holds the record for the largest nest ever recorded, with a nest spotted near St. Petersburg, Florida, in 1963 that measured nine feet, six inches wide and 20 feet deep, and was estimated to weigh more than 4,400 pounds, according to <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/bald-eagle-nest-cape-cod-first-time-century-1507010" target="_blank">Newsweek</a>.</p>
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The office of Rover.com sits empty with employees working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic on March 12 in Seattle, Washington. John Moore / Getty Images
The office may never look the same again. And the investment it will take to protect employees may force many companies to go completely remote. That's after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued new recommendations for how workers can return to the office safely.
<p>If companies choose to follow the guidelines, it would lead to a dramatic change in the corporate work experience, and likely increase pollution. One of the most striking features of the recommendations is that they upend years of environmental activism that urged people to take public transportation or car-pool. The new recommendations suggest avoiding public transportation and driving to work alone, as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported.</p>
<p>The CDC's new recommendations suggest making this cost-effective. "Offer employees incentives to use forms of transportation that minimize close contact with others, such as offering reimbursement for parking for commuting to work alone or single-occupancy rides," the guidelines say.</p><p>However, the guidelines did not address the environmental impact of such policies or the health impacts from increasing traffic congestion.</p>
<p>Besides making the commute a lonelier and less environmentally friendly, the guidelines also make the office environment lonelier. The CDC recommends placing workers six feet apart. If that's not possible, then companies should erect plastic shields around desks, remove seats in common areas, and avoid perks like coffee machines and snack bins that encourage communal activities and many people touching them, according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>In another environmentally damaging recommendation, the CDC does leave room for replacing those items with pre-packaged single-serve coffee and snacks.</p><p>"Replace high-touch communal items, such as coffee pots, water coolers, and bulk snacks, with alternatives such as prepackaged, single-serving items," the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/office-buildings.html" target="_blank">guidelines</a> say.</p>
<p>The guidelines also address the technical aspects of the office. The CDC recommends employers ensure that building ventilation systems are operating properly. It also encourages allowing as much fresh air as possible by opening windows and doors, when feasible, to "increase circulation of outdoor air as much as possible," as <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/amid-coronavirus-cdc-offers-guidelines-on-office-reopenings" target="_blank">Fox News</a> reported.</p><p>The guidelines also eliminate many office norms and pleasantries that were once common place. The guidelines tell employers to "[p]rohibit handshaking, hugs, and fist bumps." It also recommends that employees wear a cloth face mask "in all areas of the business," as <a href="https://www.axios.com/cdc-guidelines-coronavirus-office-business-jobs-ab19791a-357e-412a-9a5d-516f78610b4c.html" target="_blank">Axios</a> reported.</p><p>The guidelines encourage daily health checks, including temperature screenings before employees enter the workplace, and to send home sick workers. Then the office should go through enhanced cleaning and disinfection, as <a href="https://www.axios.com/cdc-guidelines-coronavirus-office-business-jobs-ab19791a-357e-412a-9a5d-516f78610b4c.html" target="_blank">Axios</a> reported.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> noted that many white-collar offices have successfully transitioned to a fully distributed workforce and are finding that their office environment is able to continue through video conferencing and Slack channels. With that in mind, companies might find the cost of putting protective measures in place too steep, or they might find that isolation in the office makes it difficult to recruit and retain talent. Businesses may decide to allow their workers to stay home.</p><p>Already companies like Twitter and Square have decided that their employees never need to come back to the office.</p><p>"Companies, surprisingly, don't want to go back to work," said Russell Hancock, president and CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a nonprofit think tank, to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/health/cdc-coronavirus-offices.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>. "You will not see the drum beat and hue and cry and rush to get back to the office."</p>
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Frederic Edwin Church's The Icebergs reveal their danger as a crush vessel is in the foreground of an iceberg strewn sea, 1860. Buyenlarge / Getty Images
Scientists and art historians are studying art for signs of climate change and to better understand the ways Western culture's relationship to nature has been altered by it, according to the BBC.
<p>Scientists have used art to help reconstruct historic weather and climatic conditions, such as the behavior of the Lower Grindelwald Glacier in the Swiss Alps prior to the invention of photography. Over the last 150 years, artists' depictions and use of ice has changed wholesale.</p>
<p>In 1861, Frederic Edwin Church's grand work, <em>The Icebergs,</em> showed humans' fragility in the face of the sublime power of Arctic ice floes. "Later pieces of art," on the other hand, "are about the ice melting because of what we've done to it," according Karl Kusserow, curator of American art at the Princeton University Art Museum. "There's a 180-degree switch from a world that we have no control over, to one in which we are actually controlling the fate of the planet, and recognizing that we're not doing a very good job on it."</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20200528-the-climate-change-clues-hidden-in-art-history?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=88687841&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_t3KAl8PxZcWuaJm354sogYACZWWrYhJ-xB0nIbDi1w9baaxmVQhjVMV2iVCHLhZt-WbcScHl5bPaJnzE0BMvZSLjAkANlNKv9a5o6XwWD73aliG4&utm_content=88687841&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">BBC</a><br/><a href="http://www.chron.com/technology/businessinsider/article/EPA-blasts-Associated-Press-journalist-over-12170978.php" target="_blank"></a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Esben Østergaard, co-founder of Lifeline Robotics and Universal Robots, takes a swab in the World's First Automatic Swab Robot, developed with Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu, professor at the Maersk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute at The University of Southern Denmark. The University of Southern Denmark
By Richard Connor
The University of Southern Denmark on Wednesday announced that its researchers have developed the world's first fully automatic robot capable of carrying out throat swabs for COVID-19.
<p><br/></p>
<p>The equipment uses a 3D-printed disposable arm that is automatically swapped after each patient. The robot takes a swab with a specially designed disposable tool that hits the exact part of the throat from which the sample should be taken.</p><p>It then drops the swab into a jar and seals the sample by screwing the lid.</p><p>A team of ten researchers has been working around the clock to develop the prototype as quickly as possible.</p><p>"I was one of the first to be swabbed by the robot, project leader Professor Thiusius Rajeeth Savarimuthu told the university website "It went really well. I'm still sitting here."</p><p>"I was surprised at how softly the robot managed to land the swab at the spot in the throat where it was supposed to hit, so it was a huge success."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1265508926222741508" id="twitter-embed-1265508926222741508" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1265508926222741508&created_ts=1590555814.0&screen_name=TheEinarkist&text=A+Danish+robotics+research+team+headed+by+Professor+Thiusius+Rajeeth+Savarimuthu+from+SDU+Robotics+have+developed+a%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F0QAgY3ARsr&id=1265508926222741508&name=Einar+Petersen" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="8cb285f4499e0064625c4be2f61c988c"></iframe>
<p>The invention could help relieve healthcare workers from the monotonous work of testing. But crucially, it could also reduce their risk of exposure.</p><p>The team had found out about the demand for such equipment after speaking to research colleagues at Odense University Hospital.</p><p>Hospital medical director Kim Brixen said there was a great advantage in the fact that robots don't get tired and bored of monotonous work.</p>
<p>"Currently, healthcare professionals are carrying out throat swabs for Covid-19; but working conditions can be a challenge," said Brixen. "The task entails long working days of monotonous work. At the same time, the employees are in great demand in other functions."</p><p>A prototype to swab patients is expected by the end of June, with plans to have the robots ready for the market by autumn in the event of a second or third wave of the coronavirus.</p><p>It's also expected that the technology might be adapted to help with testing for other viruses, such as flu.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/danish-robot-swabs-throats-for-coronavirus/a-53592080?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2646125352#/" target="_self"></a></p>From Your Site Articles
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Jackson Family Wines in California discovered that a huge amount of carbon pollution was caused by manufacturing wine bottles. Edsel Querini / Getty Images
Before you pour a glass of wine, feel the weight of the bottle in your hand. Would you notice if it were a few ounces lighter? Jackson Family Wines is betting that you won't.
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<p>The California winery started analyzing its carbon pollution in 2008.</p><p>"For us it was really eye opening," says Julien Gervreau, vice president of sustainability.</p><p>He says they discovered that a huge amount of carbon pollution was caused by manufacturing wine bottles.</p><p>"The big 'aha moment' that we saw around our emissions was really with glass," he says. "When you look at the supply chain for glass, it's a pretty energy- and emissions-intensive process."</p>
<p>So now, the winery not only invests in renewable energy and efficiency, it's reduced the weight of each glass bottle of its Kendall-Jackson and La Crema Lines by a couple ounces.</p><p>"And in addition to emissions savings, we saw a pretty significant financial savings associated with having to buy less glass," Gervreau says.</p><p>The winery was careful to avoid affecting the bottles' look and feel, and Gervreau says customers have not complained. Meanwhile, shipping and sales clerks appreciate lifting lighter cases.</p><p>So cheers! Here's to lighter wine bottles. And don't worry, there's still the same amount of wine inside.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.yaleclimateconnections.org/2020/05/california-winery-finds-a-clever-way-to-cut-carbon-pollution/" target="_blank">Yale Climate Connections</a>.</em></p>
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The SpaceX crew capsule will launch out of Cape Canaveral, Florida. SpaceX
After a minor setback, a new era in space travel and tourism is set to launch this weekend.
<p>On Wednesday, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/spacex" target="_self">SpaceX</a> rocket launch carrying NASA astronauts was postponed 16 minutes before liftoff due to weather concerns.</p><p>"We had simply too much electricity," said Jim Bridenstine, NASA administrator, to <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52809664" target="_blank">BBC</a>. "There was a concern that if we did launch, it could actually trigger lightning."</p><p>They will try again at 3:22 p.m. EDT on Saturday, May 30 and on Sunday, May 31 should the former also get scrapped.</p><p>The joint-mission, <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-spacex-demo-2-briefings-events-and-broadcasts" target="_blank">Demo-2</a>, will make history as the first-ever manned commercial space flight and will take place in SpaceX's spacecraft "Crew Dragon."</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0OTI0OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MDM5ODk3MH0.u837y0JZgcAG-_e0DLTNW9bn9LG0uqUwi00DKl7tzac/img.png?width=980" id="6cf6d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0908068303f5758667a1bded49a27f69" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
When the SpaceX shuttle launches its private spacecraft, the Crew Dragon, with NASA astronauts in tow, it will mark the beginning of commercialized space exploration. SpaceX
<p>The endeavor is actually a groundbreaking public-private partnership between NASA and SpaceX, who both hope the collaboration will further open up the universe of space exploration, literally.</p><p>In 2011, NASA retired its aging space shuttle program. Since then, the U.S. hasn't launched its own astronauts into space, booking them tickets instead to train on and launch from Russia's Soyuz spacecraft, reported <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-may-27-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>When the Crew Dragon launches, it will mark the return of America's ability to launch its own astronauts into space.</p>
<p>"When we launch from America with a rocket built in America by an American company who's only been flying vehicles for the last decade or so, that is a success story straight out of the movies," said Douglas Hurley, one of the two NASA astronauts manning the mission, reported <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rokzTKl8FDo" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. "The Russians have been great partners, but it's important for the United States to have its own launch capabilities."</p><p>NASA hopes that its partnership with SpaceX will also usher in a new commercial marketplace for low-Earth orbit transportation.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0OTM4MS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzOTYzMjI0MH0.Mt22Fatx1PdZxG97qDA5jheIoaf3zlferTiYyvqqllM/img.jpg?width=980" id="e9091" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7cd4a685e37b624699cdf2e2d25fee3a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
NASA astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken will man the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. NASA
<p>Rather than finance a replacement for the Space Shuttle, NASA has created the <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/commercial/crew/index.html" target="_blank">Commercial Crew Program</a> to outsource "safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation" of cargo and crew to and from the International Space Station (ISS) to the private sector. The underlying objective was to free up <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/updates-to-coverage-of-landmark-nasa-spacex-commercial-crew-test-flight" target="_blank">NASA</a>'s time and resources for deeper space exploration, reported <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-may-27-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>.</p><p>"NASA has an ability to be a customer in a very robust commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit," Bridenstine told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rokzTKl8FDo" target="_blank">NBC News</a>. The top NASA official also envisioned a future where that marketplace is "entirely commercialized," where NASA is "one customer of many customers," and where numerous providers continue to compete on cost, innovation and safety, reported <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-52809664" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p>
<p>SpaceX senior advisor Garrett Reisman told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_SrhPnffNs" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a> that the "new venture" is a different model from what the space agency has used in the past. Private companies can now retain their intellectual property and own and operate the new technology, a huge upside for innovators.</p><p>"It's also the beginning of a whole new age, a whole golden age of commercial space flight," he continued, reported Bloomberg. "One of the things that is different is the fact that NASA doesn't own the Falcon 9 [rocket] and Dragon [spacecraft]; SpaceX does. So after this mission is over, we can use the same rocket, the same spacecraft to take ordinary citizens up into space. It's opening up all kinds of new possibilities."</p>
<p>The outsourcing has potentially saved taxpayers $20-30 billion dollars, Reisman estimated, reported Bloomberg. While seats on the Soyuz cost NASA up to $86 million each, Crew Dragon seats cost the agency roughly $55 million each for this mission, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-may-27-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> found. According to CEO <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elon-musk" target="_self">Elon Musk</a>, filling all seven seats in the SpaceX capsule will lower costs to $20 million per astronaut, reported <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-05-27/spacex-nasa-flight-to-iss-opens-up-space-tourism,-moon-and-mars/12290080" target="_blank">ABC News</a>.</p><p>With the successful completion of this last test mission, which is also SpaceX's first flight with humans aboard ever, the company will have the green light to ferry crew to the ISS regularly starting in August or September, reported ABC News.</p><p>"This is a huge milestone for NASA, for the country, and for SpaceX, but there will be other milestones after this," Reisman told <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_SrhPnffNs" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>. He said it is "extremely realistic" that the Crew Dragon will be used to fly private citizens into space in 2021.</p>
<p>"This era of commercial space travel and space tourism is literally right around the corner," he added, reported Bloomberg.</p><p>Musk will continue to seek out potential new clients for his budding space transport business, perhaps space tourists looking for a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/elon-musk-mars-plan-2492016693.html" target="_self">quick getaway to the Moon or Mars</a>, reported Bloomberg.</p><p>The news report also found that SpaceX's success has catalyzed the competition, with <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/quote/BA:US" target="_blank">Boeing</a> also gearing up to carry astronauts to orbit under the same NASA Commercial Crew Program. New market entrants like Blue Origin, financed by Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos, are trying to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/spacex-recycled-rocket-elon-musk-2338284296.html" target="_self">cut costs using reusable rockets</a>, a strategy Musk is also exploring.</p>
<p>"We're standing at the threshold of all of this commercial activity in space," said Wayne Hale, who led NASA's space shuttle program, reported Bloomberg. "One of the whole points of this exercise is to build a commercial business that can go on and do things in space that are not funded by the taxpayer, that actually create wealth and jobs."</p><p>After launch, Hurley and Robert Behnken, the other NASA astronaut, will spend roughly 19 hours aboard the Crew Dragon before arriving at the ISS, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/05/26/tech/spacex-nasa-launch-may-27-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported. They will stay in space to staff the ISS for anywhere from 30 to 110 days, according to NASA. Then, the SpaceX Crew Dragon will return on its second manned mission with fresh crew and to bring the veteran astronauts back to Earth, CNN reported.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Meet the NASA astronauts that will make history with <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/LaunchAmerica?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#LaunchAmerica</a> SpaceX flight <a href="https://t.co/PqKHxUsjbg">pic.twitter.com/PqKHxUsjbg</a></p>— Bloomberg QuickTake (@QuickTake) <a href="https://twitter.com/QuickTake/status/1265426021521686529?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 26, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Former Federal Reserve Governor Rebukes Fed for Using Covid-19 Funds to Bail Out Fossil Fuel Industry
13h
Politics
A former Federal Reserve board of governors member on Thursday called on her former colleagues to stop using Covid-19 relief funds to bail out the "dying" fossil fuel industry. Douglas Sacha / Getty Images
By Eoin Higgins
A former Federal Reserve board of governors member on Thursday called on her former colleagues to stop using Covid-19 relief funds to bail out the "dying" fossil fuel industry, calling the decision a threat to the planet's climate and a misguided use of taxpayer money.
<p>"These concessions to the fossil fuel industry are a risky investment in the past," Sarah Bloom Raskin <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/28/opinion/fed-fossil-fuels.html" target="_blank">wrote</a> in a <em>New York Times</em> op-ed. "The Fed is ignoring clear warning signs about the economic repercussions of the impending climate crisis by taking action that will lead to increases in greenhouse gas emissions at a time when even in the short term, fossil fuels are a terrible investment."</p>
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<p>Raskin's opinion piece sparked praise from climate campaigners like 350.org co-founder Jamie Henn.</p><p>"This should cause some waves," Henn <a href="https://twitter.com/jamieclimate/status/1266002932626886658" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p><p>Henn on Thursday <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/views/2020/05/28/big-oil-pretending-it-doesnt-want-bailout-thats-bullshit" target="_blank">penned</a> an opinion piece for <em>Common Dreams</em> arguing that Mike Sommers, CEO of the American Petroleum Institute (API), is spewing lies to the public when he claims the industry doesn't want—and hasn't actively pushed for—a bailout from the Fed.</p><p>As Henn wrote:</p><blockquote>The truth is that despite Sommer's best efforts to spin a fairytale about oil companies tightening their belts and lifting themselves up by their bootstraps, corporate socialism is exactly what API wants. In fact, the fossil fuel industry, and the American Petroleum Institute in particular, have been at the forefront of corporate efforts to profit off the coronavirus pandemic and government relief efforts.<br></blockquote>
<p>Climate advocacy group Friends of the Earth program manager Lukas Ross, in a statement Wednesday, also <a href="https://foe.org/news/api-ceo-spews-double-talk-on-polluter-bailout/" target="_blank">rejected</a> Sommers' protestations.</p><p>"Oil lobbyists are spewing blatant lies, and we have the receipts," said Ross. "Big Oil has already nabbed $1.9 billion in giveaways thanks to corporate tax cuts from the last stimulus."</p><p>"If polluters want to deny the existence of the ongoing bailout," Ross added, "Congress should swiftly repeal these blatant corporate tax giveaways and make fossil fuels ineligible for stimulus lending programs."</p>
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<p>The bailout is presenting taxpayers with a burden, Raskin wrote, citing the industry's debt and unsustainable business model.</p><p>"For taxpayers, shouldering these liabilities is a bad deal," wrote Raskin. "Buying this bad debt is not likely to support the creation of jobs or even ensure that existing jobs survive."</p><p>Friends of the Earth <a href="https://twitter.com/foe_us/status/1265674388499763202" target="_blank">agreed</a>. </p><p>"Trump's administration has been exploiting this pandemic to bailout Big Oil companies that have been struggling long before coronavirus," the group tweeted.</p><p>The pandemic, wrote Raskin, "provides an unexpected opportunity to build an economy that is stronger in the long term."</p><p>"The decisions that the Fed makes today will go a long way to determining whether tomorrow's economy is one that remains susceptible to more chaos and vulnerability or builds economic security and resilience," she wrote.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/05/28/former-federal-reserve-governor-rebukes-central-bank-using-covid-19-lending-power" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Green living spruce and gray dead spruce in the Harz mountain region on May 7, 2020 near Clausthal-Zellerfeld, Germany. Jens Schlueter / Getty Images
More than a third of the world's old growth forests died between 1900 and 2015, a new study has found.
<p>In the study, <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6494/eaaz9463" target="_blank">published in Science</a> Friday, nearly two dozen scientists used satellite data combined with more than 160 previous studies to show that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/deforestation" target="_self">deforestation</a> and the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> are killing off older, taller <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trees" target="_self">trees</a> and leaving forests younger and shorter, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/05/grand-old-trees-are-dying-leaving-forests-younger-shorter/" target="_blank">National Geographic explained</a>. And the trend is likely to continue.</p><p>"We will see fewer forests," University of Wisconsin forest ecologist and study coauthor Monica Turner told National Geographic. "There will be areas where there are forests now where there won't be in the future."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">More than 20 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/scientists?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#scientists</a> show global conditions lead to younger, shorter trees: <a href="https://t.co/KR2Tnwx4Af">https://t.co/KR2Tnwx4Af</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/deforestation?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#deforestation</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/forests?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#forests</a> 🎄<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/science?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#science</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/researchhighlight?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#researchhighlight</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/environment?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#environment</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LosAlamosNatLab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LosAlamosNatLab</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ORNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ORNL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/NASA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NASA</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/Stanford?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Stanford</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LBNL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LBNL</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ScienceMagazine?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ScienceMagazine</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/McDowell_Trees?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@McDowell_Trees</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/poulterlab?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@poulterlab</a> <a href="https://t.co/NN7k7qcEaW">pic.twitter.com/NN7k7qcEaW</a></p>— PNNL (@PNNLab) <a href="https://twitter.com/PNNLab/status/1266087442081296390?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">May 28, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>The study was led by Nate McDowell of the U.S. Department of Energy's <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/" target="_blank">Pacific Northwest National Laboratory</a> (PNNL), who explained why this change was such a big deal.</p><p>"A future planet with fewer large, old forests will be very different than what we have grown accustomed to," he said in a <a href="https://www.pnnl.gov/news-media/global-environmental-changes-leading-shorter-younger-trees" target="_blank">PNNL press release</a>. "Older forests often host much higher <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self">biodiversity</a> than young forests and they store more carbon than young forests."</p>
<p>Old growth tree loss is being driven by a number of factors, many of them linked to the climate crisis in some way. Warmer temperatures limit photosynthesis, both stunting and killing trees. Increased <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought" target="_self">droughts</a> both kill trees directly and lead to attacks by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/insects" target="_self">insect</a> pests. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires" target="_self">Wildfires</a> and infestations by insects, fungi and choking vines are all on the rise. Humans have also killed old growth trees more directly by chopping them down.</p><p>These factors combine to alter forest makeup, PNNL explained:</p><blockquote>Known as deforestation, the phenomenon has led to an imbalance of three important characteristics of a diverse and thriving forest: (1) recruitment, which is the addition of new seedlings to a community; (2) growth, the net increase in biomass or carbon; and (3) mortality, the death of forest trees.</blockquote>
<p>"Mortality is rising in most areas, while recruitment and growth are variable over time, leading to a net decline in the stature of forests," McDowell said.</p><p>While previous scientists had predicted increased carbon dioxide would lead to more tree growth, McDowell's team found this was only the case in younger forests with lots of nutrients and water. Otherwise, he explained to National Geographic, hotter temperatures reduce moisture, causing trees to shed leaves and close pores to retain water, which makes it harder for them to absorb carbon dioxide.</p><p>"[It's like] going to an all-you-can-eat buffet with duct tape over their mouths," he said.</p>
<p>Tree loss is truly a worldwide problem. In the Western U.S., Canada and Europe, where data is most abundant, the rate of tree death has doubled in the last four decades, and older trees have disproportionately been affected. Worldwide, humans have cut down 12 percent of the world's forests since 1900, and the proportion of the world's forests that are more than 140 years old has declined from 89 to 66 percent during that time, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/may/28/climate-crisis-world-forests-shorter-younger-study" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>The study spells bad news for trees' ability to help combat the climate crisis.</p><p>"When old trees die, they decompose and stop sucking up CO2 and release more of it to the atmosphere," McDowell told National Geographic. "It's like a thermostat gone bad. Warming begets tree loss, then tree loss begets more warming."</p>
<p>However, professor Simon Lewis of University College London, who was not involved in the study, pointed out that while forests are getting younger on average, some crucial old growth forests are actually increasing their area.</p><p>"The world's intact tropical and boreal forests are both globally important as carbon sinks, and are getting larger," he told The Guardian. "The world's forests currently slow climate change, and while future mortality trends could reverse this, the ideas in the new report don't change what the world needs to do: stabilise the climate by quickly driving fossil fuel emissions to zero and protect the world's forests."</p>
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Lyme Disease Symptoms Could Be Mistaken for COVID-19, With Serious Consequences
14h
Health + Wellness
This summer, the global emergence of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is presenting a whole new set of challenges for diagnosing Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses. fhm / Getty Images
By Jory Brinkerhoff
Summer is field season for ecologists like me, a time when my colleagues, students and I go out into fields and woods in search of ticks to study the patterns and processes that allow disease-causing microbes – primarily bacteria and viruses – to spread among wildlife and humans.
<p>That field work means we're also at risk of getting the very diseases we study. I always remind my crew members to pay close attention to their health. If they get a fever or any other signs of sickness, they should seek medical treatment immediately and tell their doctor that they may have been exposed to ticks.</p><p>When summer <a href="http://doi.org/10.1128/JVI.01680-06" target="_blank">flu-like illnesses</a> develop in anyone who spends time outdoors in areas where ticks are common, tick-transmitted diseases like Lyme disease should be considered a likely culprit.</p><p>This summer, however, the global emergence of the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 is presenting a whole new set of challenges for diagnosing Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses.</p><p>Lyme disease <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/symptoms-testing/symptoms.html" target="_blank">shares a number of symptoms</a> with COVID-19, including fever, achiness and chills. Anyone who mistakes Lyme disease for COVID-19 could unknowingly delay necessary medical treatment, and that can lead to severe, potentially debilitating symptoms.</p>
Delaying Medical Treatment Can Be Dangerous
<p>As we move from spring into summer, and into the peak period of tick activity in much of the Northern Hemisphere, time spent outdoors will increase, as will risk of tick-transmitted disease.</p><p>In some cases, there are key symptoms of a tick-transmitted disease that can help with diagnosis. For example, early Lyme disease, which is caused by the bite of an infected black-legged tick, sometimes called the deer tick, is commonly associated with an expanding "bull's-eye rash." <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html" target="_blank">Seventy percent to 80% of patients have this symptom</a>.</p><p>However, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/signs_symptoms/index.html" target="_blank">other symptoms</a> of Lyme disease – fever, head and body aches and fatigue – are less distinctive and can be easily confused with other illnesses, including COVID-19. This can make it more difficult to diagnose a patient who did not notice a rash or was unaware that they ever had a tick bite. As a result, Lyme disease cases can be <a href="http://doi.org/10.4081/or.2011.e14" target="_blank">misdiagnosed</a>. Nationally, Lyme disease may be undercounted to the point that only <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/datasurveillance/index.html" target="_blank">one in 10 cases is reported to the CDC</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjgyNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDA5OTY3M30.9JOKMOkEGl8NKGYZVQ2EiZdM-EOJSGik1RQcXzOLGYc/img.jpg?width=980" id="7dd4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="44310f09395ac721821ec8b304d4b213" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A student plucks samples off a drag cloth used to collect ticks. Jory Brinkerhoff/University of Richmond, CC BY-SA
<p>If Lyme disease is identified and treated quickly, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/treatment/index.html" target="_blank">two to four weeks of antibiotics</a> can usually knock out <em>Borrelia burgdorferi</em>, the species of spirochete bacteria that causes it.</p><p>But delays in the treatment of Lyme disease <a href="http://doi.org/10.1038/nrdp.2016.90" target="_blank">can lead to more severe and persistent symptoms</a>. If Lyme disease goes untreated, <a href="https://www.columbia-lyme.org/signs-and-symptoms" target="_blank">neurological and cognitive problems</a> and <a href="https://www.healio.com/cardiology/practice-management/news/online/%7Bcb44ad64-eb7c-4ccd-b320-ac529225468a%7D/cardiologists-know-the-signs-of-lyme-disease" target="_blank">potentially fatal heart problems</a> can develop, and <a href="http://doi.org/10.1016/j.idc.2015.02.004" target="_blank">painful arthritis that is much more difficult to treat</a> can set in.</p>Lyme Disease Isn’t the Only Tick Problem
<p>Lyme disease is most common in the Northeast and North Central U.S., but that does not mean that people in areas without Lyme disease are free from worry about tick-transmitted disease. Ticks throughout North America can spread a <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/ticks/tickbornediseases/index.html" target="_blank">wide range of diseases,</a> many of which also present with flu-like symptoms, leading to the potential for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ttbdis.2015.06.005" target="_blank">misdiagnosis</a>, especially when these diseases are not especially common in the general population.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjgyNi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzODY4MzA0OX0.mFe7XWGsjXcq9L8gluGa78LpPsR8Dfu2agIkRGdonLo/img.jpg?width=980" id="015b6" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="54c6dcce90aafe4dbcf9a4ae0851de17" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A closeup of a tick's head under an electron microscope. Fernando Otalora-Luna/University of Richmond, CC BY 4.0
<p>Spotted fevers are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/otherspottedfever/index.html" target="_blank">another group of tick-transmitted diseases</a>. The most severe of these is Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which can be fatal. Spotted fevers, as the name suggests, are typically associated with a rash. But the rash may not show until after fever and other flu-like symptoms, creating the same risk of being mistaken for COVID-19. Like Lyme disease, spotted fevers <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/otherspottedfever/treatment/index.html" target="_blank">can be treated with anitibiotics</a>, and early treatment can head off more severe infections, so quick, accurate diagnosis is critical.</p>Is COVID-19 Increasing Chances of Tick Bites?
<p><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-the-coronavirus-has-changed-animals-landscape-of-fear/" target="_blank">Recent reports</a> from across the nation and around the globe suggest that wildlife have become more bold this spring, wandering into suburbs and cities where human and vehicle traffic are reduced because of COVID-19.</p><p>Whether this phenomenon is being driven by changes in animal behavior or is simply an artifact of humans spending <a href="https://www.popsci.com/story/environment/wildlife-in-cities-covid-shutdown/" target="_blank">more time in their homes and becoming more aware of their surroundings</a> is not clear, but changes in wildlife behavior and habitat use could affect tick-transmitted disease. For example, white-tailed deer are important hosts to multiple human-biting tick species in eastern North America, including black-legged ticks, and more deer around our homes and in our neighborhoods could lead to more ticks that have a chance to bite humans.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzM0NjgyOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMTk5OTQ0OH0.Ap0XdjFIZ_4RmgLP345lKNAAWogwM9mkGqGywRs_GvI/img.jpg?width=980" id="0ea86" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="870987f90607651d8c947501320138dd" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
A closeup of a tick's mouth parts under an electron microscope shows the barbs that allow it to hang on after it penetrates skin. Fernando Otalora-Luna/University of Richmond, CC BY-SA
<p>Ticks do not move very far by themselves – <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1948-7134.2009.00034.x" target="_blank">perhaps about a foot per day for some species</a> – but can be dispersed dozens of miles or more while hitching a ride on a highly mobile host like a deer, coyote or bird. Thus, the wildlife we observe exploring our neighborhoods while we are encouraged to stay at home may be leaving behind ticks that are carrying pathogens, or that could acquire infection from the more common wildlife already near our homes.</p>Staying Safe
<p>Awareness is a key component of preventing and treating tick-borne disease. People should be aware of the activities that could <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/index.html" target="_blank">expose them to ticks</a>, and <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10780095/" target="_blank">physicians should consider the possibility of tick-borne disease</a>, especially given the potential overlap in symptoms with COVID-19.</p><p>As with COVID-19, mitigation efforts can <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lyme/prev/on_people.html" target="_blank">substantially reduce the risk</a> of tick-borne diseases. Wear long sleeves and long pants and use an <a href="https://www.epa.gov/insect-repellents" target="_blank">EPA-registered repellent</a> when you are in tick habitat, and check yourself thoroughly for ticks when you get home.</p><p>It is important to be aware of ticks when spending time outside, but fear of ticks should not stop people from enjoying nature. </p>From Your Site Articles
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A Tyson plant in Wallula, Washington that has also seen a coronavirus outbreak. David Ryder / Getty Images
A Tyson Foods pork plant in Storm Lake, Iowa announced it would close Thursday after more than 20 percent of its workforce tested positive for the new coronavirus.
<p>The closure comes about a month after President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-orders-meat-plants-open-coronavirus-2645870365.html" target="_self">issued an executive order</a> for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/meat" target="_self">meat</a> processing plants to stay open despite virus outbreaks at several slaughterhouses. Those outbreaks led to the closure of around 20 plants in April, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa-meatpacking/tyson-foods-will-shut-us-pork-plant-as-more-workers-catch-covid-19-idUKKBN23434R" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>.</p><p>Tyson Foods announced the closure late Thursday, hours after the Iowa Department of Public Health (IDPH) had confirmed 555 coronavirus cases at the plant out of a workforce of 2,517, the <a href="https://eu.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2020/05/28/coronavirus-outbreak-confirmed-tyson-foods-storm-lake-pork-processing-plant-kim-reynolds/5274618002/" target="_blank">Des Moines Register reported</a>.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" class="rm-shortcode twitter-embed-1266044429732888576" id="twitter-embed-1266044429732888576" lazy-loadable="true" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1266044429732888576&created_ts=1590683488.0&screen_name=SLTimes&text=This+is+out+of+2%2C517+tested%2C+equalling+22%25+of+the+workforce+at+Tyson+Pork+so+far.&id=1266044429732888576&name=The+Storm+Lake+Times" frameborder="0" data-rm-shortcode-id="6549fd2dd2cb8add3af93c9edac813da"></iframe>
<p>"I honestly feel like the company has failed its employees," Storm Lake League of United Latin American Citizens of Iowa Vice President Mayra Lopez told the Des Moines Register. "With 555 cases confirmed, that seems pretty steep."</p><p>Lopez, who has friends and family among the plant's many minority workers, said that she had heard of employees waiting up to a week for coronavirus test results.</p><p>"By the time they get the results, it could be too late and they've passed it on to someone else," she said.</p><p>Tyson Foods said that the closure was due to a delay in testing results and the absence of employees due to quarantine. It said it would stop slaughtering and finish all processing over the next two days.</p><p>"Additional deep cleaning and sanitizing of the entire facility will be conducted before resuming operations later next week," the company said in a press release reported by the Des Moines Register.</p>
<p>The incident has added to concerns about employee safety in meatpacking plants forced to remain open despite the fact that crowded working conditions make social distancing difficult. Tyson said it implemented wide scale testing at the Storm Lake plant and required employees to wear masks, but the <a href="http://www.ufcw.org/" target="_blank">United Food and Commercial Workers International Union</a> (UFCW) said that meat companies and the Trump administration could do more to protect workers, Reuters reported. More than 3,000 U.S. meatpacking workers have tested positive for COVID-19 and 44 have died, the union said.</p><p>"Too many workers are being sent back into meatpacking plants without adequate protections in place, reigniting more outbreaks in the plants and our communities," Nick Nemec, a South Dakota farmer who is part of an advocacy group that works with UFCW, told Reuters.</p><p>Previously, coronavirus outbreaks had forced Tyson Foods to shutter plants in Waterloo, Columbus Junction, and Perry, Iowa, as well as in Dakota City, Nebraska; Logansport, Indiana; and Pasco, Washington, according to the Des Moines Register. However, most of those plants have since reopened, <a href="https://thehill.com/changing-america/resilience/natural-disasters/500016-555-workers-at-tyson-foods-facility-in-iowa" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>.</p>
<p>In April, Tyson Chairman John Tyson <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/meat-shortages-coronavirus-slaughterhouses-2645861788.html" target="_self">warned</a> that "the food supply chain is breaking." The warning preceded Trump's executive order by two days.</p><p>However, a recent <a href="https://foodandwaterwatch.org/" target="_blank">Food and Water Watch</a> <a href="https://foodandwaterwatch.org/news/USDA-spent-memorial-day-weekend-distorting-meat-production" target="_blank">report</a> has cast doubt on industry claims of shortages. It found that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported that cold storage of beef, pork, chicken and turkey was up 2.1 percent in April 2020 compared with April 2019. Further, meat exports have been on the rise in May.</p><p>At the same time, plants have persisted in switching to the New Swine Inspection System, which allows fewer inspectors and faster slaughter speeds. Plants that have switched to this system have seen increased coronavirus cases. One such plant in Guymon, Oklahoma reported 440 cases, the most in the state.</p>
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<p>"The USDA itself is showing that industry claims of impending food shortages are hogwash — meat exports are actually increasing and cold storage stockpiles of meat are growing. Meanwhile, the numbers of workers in deregulated plants are proving for us the importance of meat slaughter line speed caps and federal meat inspection," senior government affairs representative for Food & Water Action Tony Corbo said in a statement. "USDA should take a long, hard look in the mirror and reverse course immediately by forcing industry to cap line speeds, follow federal inspection guidelines, mandate worker safety protocols, and keep plants closed as long as necessary to prevent the spread of COVID-19."</p>
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'How Dare You Put Our Lives at Risk': Pennsylvania Democrat Brian Sims Rips GOP Members for 'Coverup' of Positive COVID-19 Tests
28 May
Politics
Brian Sims ranted in a Facebook Live video that went viral about the hypocrisy of Republican lawmakers who are pushing to reopen the state even though one of their members had a positive COVID-19 test. Brian Sims / Facebook
Brian Sims, a Democratic representative in the Pennsylvania legislature, ranted in a Facebook Live video that went viral about the hypocrisy of Republican lawmakers who are pushing to reopen the state even though one of their members had a positive COVID-19 test.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="70bf7ae4263536cb523389877ae5fe1a"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/brian.k.sims/videos/683102628927090/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>Sims, the first openly gay person elected to the Pennsylvania legislature, raged against the callousness of Republican members of the state House who control the legislature and demanded in-person committee meetings in Harrisburg to argue that businesses should reopen even though they knew they had been exposed to the virus.</p><p>Sims notes that the Republicans did not let the Democrats know that they had been exposed to the virus, arguing that such a revelation would hurt their argument to reopen the state.</p>
<p>The issue at hand is that Republicans have been arguing to reopen businesses in Pennsylvania and reopen the state legislature while knowing that Republican representative Andrew Lewis had tested positive for COVID-19. Lewis posted a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=1161550374179035&ref=watch_permalink" target="_blank">Facebook Live video</a> as well, saying that he did not share his diagnosis because he wanted to protect his family's privacy and the people around him.</p><p>"Out of respect for my family, and those who I may have exposed, I chose to keep my positive case private," Lewis said in a statement, as <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/dem-lawmaker-goes-epic-rant-after-gop-colleague-admits-hiding-n1216106" target="_blank">NBC News</a> reported.</p><p>Lewis said he tested positive on May 20 and quickly informed health officials and the people he was in contact with when he was last at the capital on May 14.</p>
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<p>That did not sit well with Sims, who said he donated a kidney recently to one of his neighbors who was suffering renal failure.</p><p>"I didn't donate my kidney to save someone else's life so I could die at the hands of Republicans who are being callous liars," Sims said in his 12-minute tirade.</p><p>He was particularly stung that the Republicans had kept the revelation of the diagnosis to only their members.</p><p>"Every single day of this crisis this State Government Committee in Pennsylvania has met so that their members could line up one after one after one and explain that it was safe to go back to work," said Sims. "During that time period they were testing positive. They were notifying one another.</p><p>"And they didn't notify us. I never ever, ever knew that the Republican leadership of this state would put so many of us at risk for partisanship to cover up a lie. And that lie is that we're all safe from COVID."</p>
<p>As <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/dem-lawmaker-goes-epic-rant-after-gop-colleague-admits-hiding-n1216106" target="_blank">NBC News</a> reported, the state house Democratic Caucus accused Lewis and some of the Republican colleagues who knew about his status of keeping colleagues in the dark.</p><p>"While we are pleased to learn that this House member seems to have recovered, it is simply unacceptable that some House Republicans knew about this for more than a week and sat on that knowledge," Democratic Leader Frank Dermody of Allegheny said in a statement Wednesday night.</p><p>Sims, on the other hand, believes their actions are worthy of a criminal investigation.</p><p>"Any member of leadership that has known what's been going on, any member of Republican leadership that knew that members were testing positive, that other members were being quarantined, and did not tell those of us that were exposed to those members needs to be investigated by the attorney general and I think that there needs to be prosecutions," he said.</p><p>He also noted the callousness of the secrecy, considering there are members in the House who have immune-compromised children at home.</p><p>"I'm in a building right now surrounded by members who can't go see their kids, that are having to call their husbands, having to call their wives, saying 'honey, I might have exposed you and everyone I love in this world because one of my colleagues tested positive but he was protecting his family and not protecting mine. And Republican leadership protected him,'" said Sims.</p><p>"How dare you put our lives at risk, Sims added. "How dare you put our families at risk and pretend it was about looking out for your own."</p>
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