Environmental Working Group
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported today that 1 in 88 American children have an autism spectrum disorder, a 23 percent increase since the agency’s 2009 review.
“These stunning new figures are a call to action among our elected leaders to minimize our children’s exposures to mercury and other toxic chemicals,” said Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook. “Nothing less than an all-hands-on-deck approach to this mounting epidemic is required by Congress, the president and industry.”
Though the cause of autism is yet not known, a burgeoning body of independent scientific research suggests that one factor that may be in play is environmental exposure to neurotoxic chemicals, most notably mercury, a common toxic byproduct at coal-fired power plants around the country.
“Upending the federal government’s approach to regulating toxic chemicals and putting tough emissions standards in place at power plants are two good places to start,” said Cook. The federal Toxic Substances Control Act has allowed the chemical industry to flood the marketplace with toxic chemicals, including neurotoxins, with virtually no proof they are safe for people.
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54% of parents with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Maria Symchych-Navrotska / Getty Images
By Pamela Davis-Kean
With in-person instruction becoming the exception rather than the norm, 54% of parents with school-age children expressed concern that their children could fall behind academically, according to a poll conducted over the summer of 2020. Initial projections from the Northwest Evaluation Association, which conducts research and creates commonly used standardized tests, suggest that these fears are well-grounded, especially for children from low-income families.
<p>Based on the association's findings and my own research <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=sFKNk7EAAAAJ&hl=en" target="_blank">regarding academic achievement and socioeconomic status</a>, I believe it's likely, based on these early projections, that the widespread and rapid switch to remote schooling will have negative long-term academic consequences.</p><p>One possibility is that the share of students who end up repeating at least one grade at some point could rise due to this unprecedented disruption.</p><p>According to government data collected in 2018, only about <a href="https://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/9713-children-ages-6-to-17-who-repeated-one-or-more-grades-since-starting-kindergarten" target="_blank">6% of U.S. students</a> <a href="http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/graderet.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">had to repeat a grade</a> before graduating from high school prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDI5NzkxNi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNzMxNzExOH0.selMyETdcP84ZFiYNqsaFZRjPHh0Zwj9HI9ySU77Yl4/img.png?width=980" id="952f7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="99b9ddf4c6e5e0c4bcdbf9c2d9150f22" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p>Any potential effort to make students repeat a grade when they can't demonstrate they have learned enough to advance to the next one would build on some recent precedents.</p><p>Starting in 2001 with the <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/nclb/methods/reading/reading.html#4" target="_blank">No Child Left Behind Act</a>, reading proficiency by third grade became one of the federal mandates for schools to receive designated streams of federal funding.</p><p>This <a href="https://www.fcd-us.org/assets/2016/04/DoubleJeopardyReport.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">federal legislation, combined with research</a> indicating that children who couldn't yet read <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpubeco.2017.06.004" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fared better when they repeated a grade</a>, brought about a wave of state-level legislation. So far, a total of <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/third-grade-reading-legislation.aspx" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">16 states have enacted laws</a> that prevent students from moving on from third grade until they are considered <a href="http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co%3A26127/datastream/OBJ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">proficient on standardized reading tests</a>.</p>
<p>These <a href="https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/third-grade-reading-legislation.aspx" target="_blank">state laws vary</a>. Some states, like <a href="https://www.flsenate.gov/Laws/Statutes/2011/1008.25" target="_blank">Florida</a>, require students who aren't reading well enough to repeat third grade altogether. Others, such as <a href="https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/120B.12" target="_blank">Minnesota</a>, let children move onto fourth grade and provide them with supplemental reading assistance until they can read at what the state deems to be a third-grade level. In practice, students typically don't repeat more than one grade.</p><p>I consider it likely that the academic consequences of the extended period of remote learning that began in March 2020 will be unequal. These consequences are bound to fall more heavily on students who are growing up facing persistent <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.19.2.294" target="_blank">economic hardship</a>.</p><p>The practice of making children who are struggling to learn how to read repeat third grade, however well-intentioned, can be risky. For example, students who repeat a grade can feel <a href="http://hermes.cde.state.co.us/drupal/islandora/object/co%3A26127/datastream/OBJ/view" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">stigmatized and less motivated to learn</a>.</p><p>Therefore, I believe parents, educators and policymakers will all need to try to address the inevitable gaps in learning bound to arise from widespread remote learning during the pandemic.</p>
<p>
<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/pamela-davis-kean-1142666" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Pamela Davis-Kean</a> is a </em><em>Professor of Psychology, University of Michigan.</em>
</p><p>
<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>Pamela Davis-Kean receives funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institute for Child Health and Development (NICHD).</em><span></span>
</p><p>
<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/few-us-students-ever-repeat-a-grade-but-that-could-change-due-to-covid-19-143883" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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Teen Depression Was Already a Problem; The Pandemic Could Be Making It Worse
17 September
Health + Wellness
A teenager reads a school English assignment at home after her school shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic on March 22, 2020 in Brooklyn, New York. Andrew Lichtenstein / Corbis via Getty Images
The pandemic has affected everyone, but mental health experts warn that youth and teens are suffering disproportionately and that depression and suicide rates are increasing.
<p>"While young people are generally physically healthy, they are psychiatrically vulnerable." Dr. Richard Friedman wrote in a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/06/opinion/suicide-young-people.html?smid=em-share" target="_blank">New York Times</a> opinion piece in January.</p><p>The psychiatrist warned even then that there was already an "epidemic of teen depression and suicide" that was largely being overlooked and under-supported. He cited <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf" target="_blank">evidence from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)</a> that, after declining for almost 20 years, the suicide rate among Americans aged 10 to 24 had jumped 56 percent between 2007 and 2017. Suicide has been, and is still, the second leading cause of death, after accidents, for that same age range, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db352-h.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CDC</a> reported.</p>
<p>Shutdowns and other responses to the coronavirus pandemic since Friedman's article have exacerbated the already precarious situation of youth mental health and well-being.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6932a1.htm" target="_blank">CDC survey on mental health in June</a> found symptoms of anxiety and depression "up sharply," <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/09/10/911117577/the-pandemic-has-researchers-worried-about-teen-suicide" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NPR</a> reported. 11% of respondents said they had "seriously considered" suicide in the past 30 days; among 18 to 34-year-olds, that number more than doubled to 25%. The news report offered up uncertainty about the future and the state of the world, educational and daily routine disruptions, and isolation from peers and caring adults as potential factors.</p><p>Teenagers crave structure, Mendi Baron, founder of Ignite Treatment Centers, told <a href="https://knpr.org/knpr/2020-07/toll-teens-mental-health-experts-say-pandemic-causing-uptick-depression-suicides" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KNPR's State of Nevada</a>. Without it, their mood and mental health suffer, she said.</p>
<p>According to the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/grief-loss.html" target="_blank">CDC</a>, many have experienced increased grief and loss due to the "drastic changes to daily routines and ways of life that usually bring us comfort and a feeling of stability." How adolescents experience and process this grief is similar and different than in children and adults, the center said.</p><p>"Adolescents may experience significant changes in their sleep patterns, isolate themselves more, frequently appear irritable or frustrated, withdraw from usual activities, or engage more frequently with technology," the CDC said. "It is important for parents or caregivers to engage with their adolescents over their grief to promote healthy coping and acceptance. Parents may also need to obtain mental health services for the adolescent and family to deal with grief."</p><p>Teens are also "hardwired to be social," Baron told the KNPR's State of Nevada. Caroline Edgeworth, a high school student and co-founder of Hope Means Nevada, told KNPR that school closures had "dramatically hurt" her and her friends because of lost time together and with their sports teams.</p><p>"It was kind of my escape from home and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/cabin-fever-coping-skills-2645677793.html" target="_self">now I'm stuck at home</a>," she said, reported KNPR.</p><p>Lisa Damour, an adolescent psychologist, agreed.</p><p>"Teenagers are in a developmental space where it is critically important that they have regular contact with their peers and are able to develop close and ongoing relationships with adults outside the home, such as their teachers, their coaches, their advisers," she told NPR. "And I worry very much about what it means for that to be disrupted by the pandemic."</p>
<p>Spending more time at home due to quarantine also increases another major factor in youth suicides: increased access to lethal weapons.</p><p>NPR reported that gun ownership in a particular state was the single strongest predictor of youth suicide rates in the state. A 2019 study found that for each 10 percent increase in household gun ownership, the suicide rate for 10- to 19-year-olds increases by more than 25 percent in that state, NPR reported.</p><p>Gun sales also doubled between March and June, the report stated, with 40% of the 10 million new guns sold during that time being to new gun owners. It's a "red flag" because firearms are used in over half of youth suicides, NPR reported.</p><p>Not having guns in the home or keeping them safely locked away is especially important with adolescents having to stay home due to the pandemic because "teens are impulsive," Damour told NPR.</p>
<p>These factors are causing some experts to push for schools to reopen, including CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield, reported <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Health/schools-reopen-students-mental-health-experts-weigh/story?id=71969959" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ABC News</a>. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) and American Psychiatric Association (APA) generally support the CDC's push to reopen schools for the sake of children's mental and developmental health, but not where coronavirus is circulating, ABC reported.</p><p>"Whether we are sending students back for in-person school or not, we need to put emphasis on providing mental health support," child and adolescent psychiatrist Dr. Avanti Bergquist, elected school board member and distinguished fellow of AACAP, told ABC.</p><p>Parents, caregivers and teachers can keep these tips in mind to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/childrens-mental-health-pandemic-family-support-2647353043.html?rebelltitem=5#rebelltitem5" target="_self">help kids and teens struggling during the pandemic</a>:</p><ul><li>Educate parents and teachers to recognize depression in young people and learn the warning signs of suicide, like sudden behavior changes, talking or writing about suicide, and giving away prized possessions, Friedman wrote in the New York Times.</li><li>Talk to kids. Check-in regularly. If a teen talks about hurting themselves or disappearing, ask directly, "Is that something you think you might really do or you think about doing? Or are you just letting me know that you're very upset right now?," Damour told NPR. Importantly, listen with compassion and without dismissing what they are saying.</li><li>Listen. The <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/daily-southtown/ct-sta-vickroy-teens-mental-health-st-0826-20190823-xcp4eclb35hvjhhha7b6uiu25q-story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Chicago Tribune</a> reported on the importance of being heard. Ask students how they are doing, and listen with an open mind. The <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/05/advice-for-parents-mental-health-children-covid-19/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a> stressed fostering relationships and creating an open-dialogue about wellness and feelings. "The stronger the connections are, the more opportunities they'll have to address something before it becomes untenable," said Nadjeh Awadallah, director of a Chicago INSPIRE program, reported the Tribune.</li><li>Acknowledge grief and loss. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/daily-life-coping/stress-coping/grief-loss.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CDC</a> suggested outlets to process and express grief such as music, art, writing, gardening and other creative activities.</li><li>Look out for anger as an indicator. "In teenagers, uniquely, depression can take the form of irritability," Damour said, reported NPR. "That depression in teenagers sometimes looks like a prickly porcupine. Everybody rubs them the wrong way. And that is easy to miss because sometimes we'll just dismiss that as being a snarky teenager."</li><li>Foster strong coping skills, also suggested the Tribune. Awadallah suggested meditation, conversation and other means of self-regulation and centering. Being reflective and able to calm yourself down is an important self-care component that everyone, including adults, should practice, Awadallah told the Tribune. For these pandemic times and beyond, there are <a href="http://mindfulnessforteens.com/guided-meditations/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">online resources</a> and <a href="https://www.teenvogue.com/gallery/meditation-apps-to-try-now" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">even phone apps</a> specifically catering to teens to boost their mindfulness and mental and emotional well-being. </li><li>Develop new rituals to replace lost ones. The CDC suggested those that live together to play board games or <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/quarantine-fatique-2645923350.html" target="_self">exercise together outdoors</a>. Those isolated can play virtual games together online.</li><li>Encourage safe outlets. Look for safe sports, work or volunteer opportunities that allow teens to have social time and contact with other caring adults, Damour told NPR.</li><li>Use <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/online-therapy-coronavirus-2646114980.html" target="_self">tele-therapy</a>. Damour noted that therapy over video chat has worked "surprisingly well" with adolescents, NPR reported.</li></ul><p>Finally, "one of the most important things to know about grief is that there isn't a quick fix," licensed therapist Jody Baumstein told <a href="https://www.strong4life.com/en/pages/behavior/articles/helping-kids-and-teens-deal-with-grief" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Strong4Life</a>. "The only way to truly deal with grief is to acknowledge it, feel it and work through it."</p><p><em>If you or someone you know is showing warning sides of suicide risk, reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK or at </em><a href="https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>suicidepreventionlifeline.org</em></a><em>. The </em><a href="https://www.crisistextline.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Crisis Text Line</em></a><em> is available by texting TALK to 741741.</em></p>
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Former Pence Aid Endorses Biden, Says Trump Cared More About Re-election Than Stopping Coronavirus
18 September
Politics
In an ad released by Republican Voters Against Trump, former coronavirus task force member Olivia Troye roasted the president for his response. Republican Voters Against Trump / YouTube
Yet another former Trump administration staffer has come out with an endorsement for former Vice President Joe Biden, this time in response to President Donald Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
<p>In an ad released by Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT) Thursday, a former homeland security advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, as well as his top aide on the White House coronavirus task force, accused the president of caring more about his chances of reelection than the pandemic.</p><p>"Towards the middle of February, we knew it wasn't a matter of if Covid would become a big pandemic here, it was a matter of when," the aide, Olivia Troye, said in the video, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/17/politics/former-pence-aide-coronvirus-task-force-slams-trump/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. "But the President didn't want to hear that, because his biggest concern was that we were in an election year, and how was this going to affect what he considered to be his record of success?"</p>
<div id="af97a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="998a352f5cc7ff389416d2b3276d97c9"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306685541220524046" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">NEW AD: @OliviaTroye was @VP's lead staffer on COVID-19. She put her heart & soul into the job.
After a while she… https://t.co/Erfsf9W6cY</div> — Republican Voters Against Trump (@Republican Voters Against Trump)<a href="https://twitter.com/RVAT2020/statuses/1306685541220524046">1600373084.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Troye also said she witnessed Trump dismiss the severity of the new disease.</p><p>"It was shocking to see the president saying that the virus was a hoax, saying that everything's OK when we know that it's not," Troye said. "The truth is, he doesn't actually care about anyone else but himself."</p><p>Troye's video comes about a week after the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-coronavirus-woodward-tapes-2647565763.html" target="_self">release of tapes</a> in which Trump acknowledged to journalist Bob Woodward that he did in fact understand the severity of the virus, but downplayed the risks to the public in order to prevent panic. The disease has now sickened more than 6.6 million Americans and killed almost 200,000, according to Friday morning figures from <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html" target="_blank">Johns Hopkins University</a>.<br></p>
<p>In another shocking revelation, Troye recalled an extremely callous remark Trump had made about the new disease.</p><p>"Maybe this Covid thing's a good thing," Troye claimed the president said during a meeting. "I don't like shaking hands with people. I don't have to shake hands with these disgusting people."</p><p>Troye continued by reflecting that "those disgusting people" were the same people who supported the president and who he claimed to care about, as <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/olivia-troye-pence-advisor-endorses-biden-coronavirus-task-force/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CBS News reported</a>.</p><p>"If the president had taken this virus seriously, or if he had actually made an effort to tell how serious it was, he would have slowed the virus spread, he would have saved lives," Troye said.</p>
<p>The White House responded by saying that Troye, who left the administration in late July, was merely lashing out at her former employers.</p><p>"I haven't read her comments in any detail, but it reads to me like one more disgruntled employee who's left the White House and now has decided to play politics during an election year," Pence told reporters, as CNN reported. "I think my staff has indicated that she made no comments like that when she was serving on our team here at the White House coronavirus task force."</p><p>White House spokesperson Judd Deere said that Troye never attended private meetings with the president and that her statements were inaccurate, as CBS News reported. And White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany <a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/status/1306747024210001922" target="_blank">tweeted</a> a letter Troye sent to the coronavirus task force upon her departure in which she praised its members for their efforts.</p>
<div id="2a391" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2ec3a912ad5dfd294d10417281f42254"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306747024210001922" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Interesting departure letter from a disgruntled former detailee who typically sat in the overflow room of task forc… https://t.co/wWBvf1Vusx</div> — Kayleigh McEnany (@Kayleigh McEnany)<a href="https://twitter.com/PressSec/statuses/1306747024210001922">1600387743.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>However, POLITICO pointed out that the letter was addressed to the task force and did not mention Trump, while Troye's video criticized Trump specifically. In the ad, Troye maintained that serving on the task force was the "honor of a lifetime," but she felt her efforts were undermined by Trump's decisions.</p><p>"I put my heart and soul into this role every single day," she said in the ad, as POLITICO reported. "But at some points I would come home at night, I would look myself in the mirror and say, are you really making a difference? Because no matter how hard you work or what you do, the president is going to do something detrimental to keeping Americans safe."</p><p>Fellow task force member and top U.S. infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that Troye was a "good person" and "important to the team," as CBS News reported.</p>
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Climate Group
Every September for the past 11 years, non-profit the Climate Group has hosted Climate Week NYC, a chance for business, government, activist and community leaders to come together and discuss solutions to the climate crisis.
<p>This September is no different. Despite the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a>, <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/climate-week-nyc-2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Week NYC</a> is returning for its 12th year next week from Sept. 21 to 27, making it the largest climate summit taking place this year. And, because of the new focus on virtual events, you don't have to physically be in New York City to participate.</p><p>"We're really excited that Climate Week NYC is going to be able to bring together so many important events and conversations, both in New York City and around the world," head of Climate Week NYC Adam Lake told EcoWatch in an email. "With an understandably strong focus on digital events this year, we're grateful to work with Facebook to help support event organizers use tools and platforms to host events and connect with the climate community. Together, Climate Week NYC 2020 will be the most engaging, inclusive and truly global Climate Week we've ever seen."</p>
<p>All of the Climate Group's events will be available to watch on its <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/TheClimateGroup/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook page</a> starting Monday. The page will also feature highlights of more than 350 affiliated events being organized in New York City and elsewhere. You can check out the full events calendar <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/events-program" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. But, to help you out, here are five free Climate Week NYC events you can participate in from the comfort and safety of your couch.</p>
<p>1. <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/event/play-planet" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Play for the Planet</a>: Are you a musician or artist? Do you care about stopping climate change? <a href="https://climatemusic.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">ClimateMusic</a> is asking artists to send them their answers to short interview questions, concluding with a video answer to the prompt, "What do you want the future to sound like?" The responses will appear in a series of testimonials on the organization's website. Participants are also encouraged to share their answers on social media using the hashtags #PlayforthePlanet and #ClimateMusic. <em>All week.</em></p>
<p>2. <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/event/chance-lifetime-how-governments-and-businesses-are-achieving-green-economic-recovery" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Chance of a Lifetime? How Governments and Businesses are Achieving a Green Economic Recovery</a>: Listen to business, non-profit and government leaders discuss how we can recover from the coronavirus pandemic in a way that halves greenhouse gas emissions in the next 10 years. This Climate Group hosted event will feature speakers including Climate Group CEO Helen Clarkson, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/covid-vaccine-trial-stopped-2647532475.html" target="_self">AstraZeneca</a> Executive Vice President Katarina Ageborg and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos. Watch on the Climate Group's <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/TheClimateGroup" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Facebook Watch</a> page. <em>Tuesday, Sept. 22, 9:45 - 11:25 a.m.</em></p>
<p>3. <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/event/expressing-climate-grief" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Expressing Climate Grief</a>: Are you overwhelmed with emotion when you think about everything happening to the earth and its creatures? Sustaining All Life and United to End Racism will lead a digital workshop in expressing these emotions and healing them so that you can go back into your community and work to stop the climate crisis without burning out. Register <a href="https://sal.rc.org/workshop/expressingclimategrief2020" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. <em>Wednesday, Sept. 23, 1 - 2:30 p.m.</em></p>
<p>4. <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/event/climate-change-and-american-voter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Insights 2020: Climate Change and the American Voter</a>: With the November election less than two months away, everyone wants to know how climate change will impact voters' decisions. Speakers including Katharine Hayhoe of Texas Tech University and Christina Chan of the World Resources Institute will discuss the latest results of a survey assessing the priorities of U.S. voters. RSVP <a href="https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Y8MA8IOzRtKP3kuGqNo9pA" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. <em>Thursday, Sept. 24, 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m.</em></p>
<p>5. <a href="https://www.climateweeknyc.org/event/climate-justice-and-resilience-farmers-and-communities-front-lines" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Climate Justice and Resilience: Farmers and Communities on the Front Lines</a>: This roundtable discussion hosted by the <a href="https://www.rainforest-alliance.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rainforest Alliance</a> will seek to answer how governments and corporations can best support rural farmers and Indigenous communities on the front lines of the climate crisis. It will include a focus on "climate-smart agriculture" and how it can be expanded. Speakers will include International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change Co-chair Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, Ghanaian cocoa farmer Elijah Owusu-Cashiedom and Unilever Chief Sustainability Officer Rebecca Marmot. Register <a href="https://raorg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PLB8Fhp_T2ujgEgdvv0KZg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>. <em></em><em>Friday, Sept. 25, 9 - 10:30 a.m.</em></p>
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A field of sunflowers near the Mehrum coal-fired power station, wind turbines and high-voltage lines in the Peine district of Germany on Aug. 3, 2020. Julian Stratenschulte / picture alliance via Getty Images
By Elliot Douglas
The coronavirus pandemic has altered economic priorities for governments around the world. But as wildfires tear up the west coast of the United States and Europe reels after one of its hottest summers on record, tackling climate change remains at the forefront of economic policy.
<p>The German Economics Minister Peter Altmaier made history last week by announcing the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-climate-change-co2/a-54891520" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">"historic compromise" of a new climate charter</a> for Europe's economic powerhouse. Days later, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced the EU's Green New Deal climate goals would become even more ambitious, with a plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the bloc by 55% by 2030.</p><p>Germany's climate charter would bring the country in line with Brussels' plans and put Germany at the forefront of green policy. But is Altmaier's charter just political posturing?</p>
<h3>What Is the Climate Charter?</h3><p>"This is the first time the economics ministry of a major country has openly embraced policies suggested by groups like Fridays for Future," climate change policy expert Miranda Schreuers told DW. "That is really quite dramatic."</p><p>Schreuers is a professor of environment and climate policy at the Technical University of Munich, and is among those who cautiously welcome Altmaier's announcement.</p><p>Youth environmentalist movement Fridays for Future, led by Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, has enjoyed widespread support in Germany — millions of people took to the streets in what became known as climate strikes last year.</p><p>The establishment of the "Charter for Climate Neutrality and Economic Strength" may indeed be a response to some of their demands. Altmaier's announcement also enshrines the EU goal of complete climate neutrality by 2050, with the application of annual goals in Germany. But prominent London-based think tank Energy Transmissions Commission <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/net-zero-emissions-mission-possible-by-2050-says-industrial-think-tank/a-54946076" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">described the goal as "mission impossible" on Wednesday</a>.</p>
<div id="b8f89" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ee9d985b6f927ce8f72d98cd509f2889"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1306543640886599680" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We owe it to our children and grandchildren to take action now.
Cutting net EU greenhouse gas emissions by 55% com… https://t.co/qkpOUTxQHX</div> — European Commission 🇪🇺 (@European Commission 🇪🇺)<a href="https://twitter.com/EU_Commission/statuses/1306543640886599680">1600339253.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Other key points include subsidies for German businesses which use <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> sources and the introduction of a scoreboard to rate companies for how efficiently they cut emissions.</p><p>But Altmaier's most radical announcement — at least politically — was his admission that he has made mistakes by not acting faster and that the goals can only be achieved if political parties work together.</p><p>"We have failed to adequately explain our policy. A lot could have happened quicker and faster," the close ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel said.</p>
<h3>Importance of the Economic Model</h3><p>Schreuers believes that getting certain key industries to work with the climate charter will be crucial to the success of Altmaier's plan.</p><p>"If we don't manage to get certain industries on board — automobile manufacturing and steel for example — then it simply won't work," she explained.</p><p>"Big industry needs to stay in the country, and it needs to become competitive and green."</p><p>Germany's reliance on high-emitting industries has long cast a shadow on its green reforms. Altmaier hopes that a reform of CO2 pricing can help improve this.</p><p>"The only concrete measure in his plan is the idea of reforming CO2 pricing," said Antje von Broock of environmental organization Friends of the Earth Germany. "And he could have done that in September 2019."</p><p>That was when Germany announced its climate package ahead of the EU's Green New Deal.</p><p>In the new green Europe, which von der Leyen wants to see as the world's first climate-neutral continent, Germany can only keep up if it protects big industry, Schreuers believes.</p>
<h3>Is Germany a World Leader for Climate Protection?</h3><p>But Schreuers also thinks that Germany's role as a world leader in this issue may have been overstated in the last few years.</p><p>"Although Germany has been seen as a leader in climate protection policy, you could argue that Germany has really been crucial in putting on the brakes," Schreuers says. "But now Germany is waking up to the reality that other parts of the world are already streets ahead of them."</p><p>China, Japan and the U.S. state of California are all in the process of developing ambitious renewable energy systems that could leave the EU, and Germany with it, trailing behind.</p><p>Schreuers also believes that this November's U.S. presidential election will be a game-changer for the EU and Germany's climate goals.</p><p>"Right now, it looks like [Democratic presidential candidate Joe] Biden will win — and he wants 100% carbon-free electricity in the U.S. by 2035," Schreuers explains. "That will change the global playing field hugely."</p>
<h3>An Early Start to the Election Campaign?</h3><p>The timing of Altmaier's announcement may also be significant, with Germany heading to the polls in less than a year.</p><p>Von Broock of Friends of the Earth Germany largely dismisses the 20-point plan as electioneering. "Peter Altmaier wants to use climate protection policy to increase his profile in the pre-election campaign."</p><p>There is all to play for in 2021 for Altmaier's center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), as the enduringly popular Chancellor Angela Merkel will step down. The CDU is currently in coalition with the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), but the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germany-greens-projected-to-gain-in-key-local-election/a-54913456" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Green party is catching up with the SPD.</a> Many national polls put the Greens as Germany's second most popular party.</p><p>"All of this means the CDU are setting themselves up for a new coalition partner — possibly the Greens," said Schreuers. The climate charter may be a concession toward this possible future pact.</p><p>Altmaier was insistent that the new charter will "cross party lines" and that the CDU is ready to work together with other parties.</p><p>For both academic Schreuers and activist von Broock, the proof will be in the achievement of the goals.</p><p>"What we need are serious social efforts, led by politicians who courageously initiate the necessary ecological and social transformation," says von Broock. "It is therefore fundamentally to be welcomed that Minister Altmaier wants to bring the economy on board. However, the 20 points of his climate charter do not go far enough."</p><p>"Germany needs to be a player in the next stage of global climate protection," Professor Schreuers explains. "If you are a player, you have more power to shape the narrative. And Germany needs to shape the narrative if it wants to remain an economic powerhouse."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-new-climate-charter-what-will-it-change/a-54957054?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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