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Interactive Tool Makes Global CO2 Emissions Data Smartphone Accessible
“Big data” has never been bigger. New tools—such as satellites, cloud computing and other technological upgrades—are fueling a “data revolution,” allowing researchers to analyze the world in ways they’ve never been able to before.
Graphic courtesy of Mom's Clean Air Force
But while compiling and analyzing this data is incredibly important, the other piece of the puzzle is making data accessible. Identifying solutions to global environment and development challenges—such as climate change, deforestation and water management—means making data fully available to a wide set of decision-makers from government, business, academia and civil society.
That’s why World Resources Institute (WRI) is launching a fully mobile-accessible version of its Climate Analysis Indicators Tool, or CAIT 2.0. The tool allows users everywhere to access, visualize and compare greenhouse gas emissions data from 186 countries and 50 U.S. states, as well as other comprehensive, global climate data. And now, all of this invaluable information is available via smart phones, iPads and other mobile devices.
Addressing Accessibility in the Data Revolution
Making data accessible to all users around the world is critical for addressing an issue as globally relevant as climate change. Mobile-friendly data is important for ensuring this type of accessibility—especially when it comes to decision-makers in Africa and Asia.
Consider the mobile usage chart below, created by StatCounter. This map and associated research are indicators of the growing importance of mobile-friendly data. Mobile internet access overwhelmingly dominates in Sub-Saharan Africa and South-East Asia. For example, in India, 65 percent of the total population uses mobile devices to access the Internet; 82.8 percent do so in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Mobile usage is also growing globally. Worldwide, mobile phones already account for 17 percent of global web usage, with Africa and Asia having the major share.
Mobile-Friendly Data Can Support Climate Change Action
Mobile-accessible climate data can be useful for stakeholders like policymakers, businesses, NGOs and academics as they work on climate issues. Imagine, for example, a discussion between two country delegates at a U.N. climate conference in which they come to a disagreement on appropriate mitigation actions. One of the delegates takes out his smart phone to access the most recent available emissions data within CAIT 2.0, which immediately helps to make the conversation more fact-based and allows them to reach a mutual understanding on the best path forward.
Or take a policy analyst, who is in transit and finishing a presentation that will inform a climate policy meeting she is attending the next day. With CAIT 2.0 mobile, from her taxi she is able to directly access GHG emissions numbers for the countries she’s been asked about, and can thus support her arguments with the latest available data.
And importantly, a mobile-friendly CAIT 2.0 gives everyone with internet access the ability to gain information about countries’ and states’ greenhouse gas emissions. This type of data transparency can allow the public to become informed and hold leaders accountable for climate action—or inaction.
Making Data Accessible at Any Time
By introducing a mobile solution, WRI seeks to establish CAIT 2.0 as the go-to source for reliable and accessible climate data. The CAIT 2.0 mobile site is designed with streamlined functionality to accommodate devices such as smart phones and small tablets without sacrificing the level of detail contained in the existing, full-sized CAIT 2.0 platform.
Visit EcoWatch’s CLIMATE CHANGE page for more related news on this topic.
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Four rolls of sourdough bread are arranged on a surface. Photo by Laura Chase de Formigny and food styling by Lisa Cherkasky for The Washington Post / Getty Images
By Zulfikar Abbany
Bread has been a source of basic nutrition for centuries, the holy trinity being wheat, maize and rice. It has also been the reason for a lot of innovation in science and technology, from millstones to microbiological investigations into a family of single-cell fungi called Saccharomyces.
<p>There are breads of all shapes and sizes the world over — from flats and soda breads to buns, baguettes and boules, tinned loaves, crackers, plaits and sticks, baked with a griddle, in a Dutch oven or on a stone.</p><p>Jewish communities eat unleavened bread, or "matzo," at the Passover. It's flour and water, mixed and baked in under 20 minutes to prevent the dough from fermenting.</p><p>Ancient Greeks also made unleavened breads until about the last century BC, when leavens were introduced, and wheat flour replaced barley meal. </p><p>Asian chapatis and rotis and other Middle Eastern flatbreads, such as an Egyptian "aiysh," Palestinian "shrak," Syrian "aiysh shami" or Turkish "pide" are variations of the same, often wholemeal, bread that's used for scooping up saucy food. Some use leaven; others do just fine without. They are fast-action, practical breads. </p>
Chemical leavening
<p>If you like a little heft in your loaf, you will need a leavening agent.</p><p>For those short on time, you can use baking soda. That's a chemical compound of sodium bicarbonate mixed with potassium bitartrate, or cream of tartar.</p><p>Soda breads have their traditions in parts of eastern and central Europe, and in Ireland and Scotland, with Melrose loaves and "farls."</p><p>They can taste a bit bland, though, and are often considered only as an emergency solution on Sundays. No disrespect intended: They taste just fine fresh from the oven.</p><p>Whether it's chemical or more "natural," leavening relies largely on the production of carbon dioxide.</p><p>When you mix an acid, such as vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt or apple cider, with an alkaline compound like baking soda, you get CO2. That CO2 creates bubbles, which in turn capture steam in the oven and allow a bread to rise.</p><p><span></span>But it's better with yeast. Tastes better, too. It just takes more time. </p>What is yeast?
<p>There are yeasts all around us — on grains, in the air, in biofuels. It even lives inside us, but that's not always a good thing.</p><p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1090575/pdf/1471-2334-5-22.pdf" target="_blank">Candida yeast</a> can cause infections of the skin, feet, mouth, penis or vagina if it builds up too much in the body.</p><p>One of the most common yeasts, however, is <em>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</em>. That's <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/an-early-beer-archaeologists-tap-ground-at-worlds-oldest-brewery/a-45480731" target="_blank">"brewer's"</a> or "baker's" yeast.</p><p>You can get fresh baker's yeast, often in 42-gram (1.48-ounce) cubes, or as dried yeast (quick action or active, which requires rehydration) in a sachet of 7 grams.</p><p>There's little difference: One is compressed and the other is dehydrated and granulated. But they do the same thing, essentially. </p><p>Some commercial yeast producers add molasses and other nutrients. But natural yeast has plenty of useful nutrients in it anyway, including B group vitamins, so who knows whether it's good or necessary to add them. </p>How does yeast work?
<p>When you mix flour, yeast and water, you set off a veritable chain reaction. Enzymes in the wheat convert starch into sugar. And the yeast creates enzymes of its own to convert those sugars into a form it can absorb.</p><p>The yeast "feeds" on the sugars to create carbon dioxide and alcohol. The yeast burps and farts, releasing gases into the mix, and that creates bubbles to trap CO2. </p><p>It's a vital fermentation process that breaks down the gluten in the flour and helps make your bread more digestible.</p><p>The yeast cells split and reproduce, generating lactic and carbonic acid, raising the temperature and ultimately adding flavor to the mix.</p><p>The longer you leave the yeast to do its thing, the better for your bread. Time is more important than the amount of yeast. </p><p>In fact, that's an enduring question — how much yeast? I'll use 20 grams fresh yeast for 500 grams of flour. Others say that's enough yeast for 1 kilo. If you are converting a dry-yeast recipe to fresh yeast, some bakers advise tripling the weight. So, if a sachet of dried yeast is 7 grams, your fresh yeast is 21 grams.</p><p><span></span>But that also depends on the flours you are using, temperatures in the bowl and the room, and a host of other things. You'll just have to experiment and see. No number of books (and I've read a stack on bread) will help as much as trial and error.</p><p>There is one simple fact, though, and that is that more yeast does not make better bread. It might make it rise quicker and higher, but size isn't everything, right?</p><p>Oh, mind how and when you add salt. Salt slows the action in yeast. It toughens the gluten "network," or structure of your dough, making it tougher to knead or stretch.</p><p><span></span>Keep an eye on ambient temperatures as well. Yeast needs warmth to activate and react, but too much heat will kill it — that's basically what happens when you pop your loaf in the oven. You "finish" the process. </p>
Wild yeast: Sourdough
<p>So, good bread needs time. If you have a lot of time, why not move it up a notch and grow wild yeast — a sourdough starter — in your own home?</p><p>A sourdough starter is not to be mistaken (as it often is) for the leaven, or "mother," "sponge," or <em>levain</em>. That's more a second stage, a descendant of the starter. You take a scoop from your starter and add it to another flour and water mixture when you prepare the dough for a new loaf. </p><p>The sourdough process utilizes yeasts naturally present in flour and … yet more time. A longer fermentation process allows a richer lactic acid bacteria <em>lactobacilli</em> or LAB to evolve, and that can be healthy for your gut microbiome.</p><p>It's simple enough to start a sourdough starter. All you need is flour, warm water and time.</p><p>Some suggest equal measures of whole-grain flour and water at 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit), some say room temperature — just don't let the water exceed 40 C or the yeasts will die. Some suggest two parts flour to three parts water. But it's up to you whether you want a drier or wetter starter. You will know only through experimentation. </p><p>Some say you should filter tap water to remove chemicals like fluoride and avoid using water that's boiled and then cooled. Others say that really doesn't matter.</p><p>The main thing is, keep it clean and give it time. Days, weeks, months and years.</p><p>In the first week, discard half of the mixture each day and add a fresh batch of flour and water. You can use the discarded starter to make patties or a truly dark Russian black bread. But that's for later.</p><p>Make sure the starter can breathe — don't screw on a lid, use a cloth to cover it. And after a week, you should start to see bubbles. That's when you know your starter alive and active.</p><p>The tricky thing now is keeping it alive and the right amount of active whenever you need some for a loaf. After over a year of cultivating a starter, I still can't get it right.</p>
<p>You have to feed your starter regularly with fresh flour and water. If it develops a watery alcohol on top, that's "hooch," a protective layer and just means your starter needs refreshing. If you've only got time to feed it once a week, slow the process by chilling it in a fridge.</p><p>Sourdough takes dedication and a scientific approach. You can't knock out a boule.</p><p>Yeast aside, it's important to allow time for your flour and water to "autolyze." If you add salt too soon, you will inhibit the gluten structure. Give it time, and two proteins in the wheat, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5899726/pdf/12551_2017_Article_367.pdf" target="_blank">gliadin and glutenin,</a> will bond to give you that all-important gluten (apologies to the gluten-intolerant), the gluten will give the yeast more feed, and you will have an airy, nutritious bread at the end. </p><p>But all too often I get impatient and end up having to "juice" my sourdough with a pinch of fresh yeast. It still has that distinctive, sour taste, but it's not "pure." I won't give up. One day I'll make a perfect sourdough rye.</p>
<p class="">Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/sourdough-yeast-fungi-of-life-and-yummy-bread/a-53047010?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</p>From Your Site Articles
- The 7 Healthiest Types of Bread - EcoWatch ›
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- How Does Sourdough Get Its Unique Flavor? - EcoWatch ›
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A coral reef in Egypt's Red Sea. Tropical ocean ecosystems could see sudden biodiversity losses this decade if emissions are not reduced. Georgette Douwma / Stone / Getty Images
The biodiversity loss caused by the climate crisis will be sudden and swift, and could begin before 2030.
<p>That's the warning from a new study <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2189-9" target="_blank">published in Nature Wednesday</a>, which set out to determine how a variety of species and ecosystems would respond to rising temperatures over the course of the 21st century.</p><p>"We found that climate change risks to biodiversity don't increase gradually. Instead, as the climate warms, within a certain area most species will be able to cope for a while, before crossing a temperature threshold, when a large proportion of the species will suddenly face conditions they've never experienced before," lead author Dr. Alex Pigot of University College London's Centre for Biodiversity & Environment Research said in a <a href="https://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2020/apr/climate-change-could-cause-sudden-biodiversity-losses-worldwide" target="_blank">press release</a>. "It's not a slippery slope, but a series of cliff edges, hitting different areas at different times."</p>
<p>The researchers divided the globe into 100 by 100 kilometer (approximately 62 mile) grids and looked at the ranges of 30,652 species along with climate models from 1850 to 2005. They then used models to determine when the species in each grid would experience temperatures beyond their historic ranges for five years or more. The results showed that many species in an ecosystem would cross that temperature threshold at the same time, and 73 percent of species around the world facing temperature shocks would do so in the same decade.</p>
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<p>Jennifer Sunday, a McGill University biologist who was not involved with the study, told <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/07042020/global-warming-ecosystem-biodiversity-rising-heat-species?fbclid=IwAR1galRnXD4ZOTC0tZ_ob18WhgHpVwzDPQUPHEXA_nqw0QwQ1WoeQWFM_8s" target="_blank">InsideClimate News</a> that its novel approach allowed for new insight into the timeline for climate-driven biodiversity loss.</p><p>"We did not know about the time-course of events. We have lots of models that compare species ranges today to those at a future date, but we did not know when most of the changes were going to happen," she said. "The research also makes it clear that global warming's impacts on ecosystems could arrive very suddenly."</p><p>Just how sudden and how devastating those impacts will be depends entirely on how swiftly greenhouse gas emissions are lowered to reduce global warming.</p><p>The study found that, in a high-emissions scenario that allows more than four degrees Celsius of warming by 2100, at least 15 percent of ecosystems would suffer an event in which more than 20 percent of their key species hit their temperature limits in the same decade. This could happen before 2030 for tropical oceans and by 2050 for the far North and tropical forests.</p><p>If emissions are kept below two degrees Celsius, however, as per the goals of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a>, fewer than two percent of ecosystems will face such an event.</p>
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<p>Dr. Pigot said the experience of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> provided a model for how swift action now could avert catastrophe later.</p><p>"Our findings highlight the urgent need for climate change mitigation, by immediately and drastically reducing emissions, which could help save thousands of species from extinction. Keeping global warming below 2°C effectively 'flattens the curve' of how this risk to biodiversity will accumulate over the century, providing more time for species and ecosystems to adapt to the changing climate – whether that's by finding new habitats, changing their behaviour, or with the help of human-led <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/conservation" target="_self">conservation</a> efforts," he said in the press release.</p>
<p>Conservation groups also endorsed Pigot's message.</p><p>"There is already more than enough evidence that climate change is impacting the natural world and that we risk losing up to a million species. We know what the solutions are to halt climate change and biodiversity loss," Mark Wright, director of science at <a href="https://www.wwf.org.uk/" target="_blank">WWF-UK</a>, told <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/08/wildlife-destruction-not-a-slippery-slope-but-a-series-of-cliff-edges" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "The world is currently rightly focused on tackling the global health emergency. However, this new research reinforces that, after we are through this extremely difficult time, we will need renewed ambitious action to address the climate and nature crisis."</p>
From Your Site Articles
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An approximately one-year-old puma in the streets of Santiago, Chile on March 24, 2020, in search for food as fewer people are outside due to the pandemic. ANDRES PINA / ATON CHILE / AFP via Getty Images
A third cougar has been sighted wandering through a residential neighborhood in the Chilean capital of Santiago as millions of the city's residents are under lockdown measures in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
<p>A video shared by the National Zoo of Chile shows the big cat being released at "dusk under strict security measures" darting from an enclosure back into its mountain landscape. The zoo adds that the big cat was captured in a private home on Monday and was in deemed in good enough health to release it the same day, according to a Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/zoologiconacionaldechile/posts/3238908382799914" target="_blank">post</a>.</p><p>Two other cougars have also been captured in the city as a majority of its six million residents are practicing quarantine and self-isolation measures amid the coronavirus outbreak. As people have moved inside for the last two weeks, wild animals often pushed to urban outskirts have been making their way into city centers.</p>
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="77827e0b75e8757004242624fd75cc54"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/zoologiconacionaldechile/videos/213107676637654/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>"They sense less noise and are also looking for new places to find food and some get lost and appear in the cities," Horacio Bórquez, Chile's national director of livestock and agriculture service, said of the animals in a report by the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-52197631" target="_blank">BBC</a>.</p><p>The foothills surrounding Santiago have also been experiencing a severe <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/drought">drought</a>, which <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-chile-puma/chilean-capital-gets-another-visit-from-cougar-amid-coronavirus-lockdown-idUSKBN21K37Q" target="_blank">Reuters</a> adds may be further pushing the thirsty felines toward urban centers in search of water. Central Chile has received 30 percent lass rainfall that normal over the last decade in what scientists have nicknamed a "<a href="https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6219" target="_blank">megadrought</a>." Last year was particularly dry with rainfall deficits of 80 to 90 percent, according to <a href="https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/images/145874/long-term-drought-parches-chile" target="_blank">NASA</a>.</p><p>"An 80 percent deficit means that the semi-arid region north of Santiago has seen almost no water, as seen in the marked browning of the vegetation," said <a href="http://www.dgf.uchile.cl/rene/" target="_blank">René D. Garreaud</a>, a scientist at the University of Chile. "South of Santiago has received some rain — 100 to 300 millimeters (4 to 12 inches). That is still not much, but it has been enough to keep the vegetation green."</p>
<p>It is unclear whether wildlife is "rebounding" in the absence of humans or if they are simply taking advantage of a unique situation. In recent weeks, social media has shared videos of wildlife making its way to human-populated areas as if in response to global lockdowns – claims that <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/03/coronavirus-pandemic-fake-animal-viral-social-media-posts/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a> has challenged. Many of the reports – which include accounts of <a href="https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dolphins-swans-italy-lockdown/" target="_blank">swans</a>, <a href="https://mashable.com/article/coronavirus-fake-dolphins-venice-animals-viral-posts/" target="_blank">dolphins</a>, and even <a href="https://www.indy100.com/article/drunk-elephants-china-corn-yunan-province-9414431" target="_blank">drunk elephants</a> – are either misrepresented or a regular occurrence.</p><p>"The phenomenon highlights how quickly eye-popping, too-good-to-be-true rumors can spread in times of crisis. People are compelled to share posts that make them emotional," writes the publication. "When we're feeling stressed, joyous animal footage can be an irresistible salve. The spread of social phenomena is so powerful, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/srep19767" target="_blank">2016 research shows</a>, that it can follow same models that trace the contagion of epidemics."</p><p>As human populations grow and encroach on natural habitat, interactions between people and wildlife continue to increase. Protective regulations have further helped once-endangered animal populations to bounce back, further <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/mountain-lion-encounters-rise-experts/story?id=62144482" target="_blank">spurring</a> potential urban-wildlife conflict. A <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ece3.5559" target="_blank">2019 study</a> suggests that understanding animals living at the wildland-urban interface is necessary to ensure the safety of both animals and humans, which is "especially true for large carnivores" as these species are not always tolerated by the public.</p>
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Bernie Sanders announces he is suspending his campaign via a livestream Wednesday. berniesanders.com via Getty Images
Bernie Sanders, the Independent Vermont Senator who campaigned for aggressive action on the climate crisis and environmental justice, has dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary race.
<p>His announcement, made Wednesday morning during a conference call with his entire staff, means the more moderate former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> will face off against President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Donald Trump</a> in November, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/04/08/bernie-sanders-suspends-his-presidential-campaign-175137" target="_blank">POLITICO reported</a>. In a speech livestreamed to supporters, Sanders said his campaign had won the "ideological battle" on issues ranging from universal health care to climate action, but that he could see no clear way to secure the nomination.</p><p>"Together we have transformed American consciousness as to what kind of nation we can become, and have taken this country a major step forward in the never-ending struggle for economic justice, social justice, racial justice and environmental justice," he told his supporters, according to a transcript provided by <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/bernie-sanders-concession-speech.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
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<p>When Sanders first entered the race in February of 2019, he <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-2020-2629410846.html" target="_self">promised</a> to release his own version of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bernie-sanders-2020-2629410846.html" target="_self">Green New Deal</a>, an ambitious plan to transition the U.S. from fossil fuels to renewable energy while providing jobs and addressing inequality.</p><p>When his <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sanders-green-new-deal-2639955047.html" target="_self">plan dropped in August</a>, many said it was the most progressive of the proposals of the Democratic candidates contending for the nomination. <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/22/20828794/bernie-sanders-green-new-deal-2020-elections-climate-change" target="_blank">Verge summed it up</a> at the time:</p><blockquote>At $16.3 trillion spent over 15 years, Sanders' climate deal is by far the priciest of all the Democratic candidates left in the primary race. It's also arguably the most progressive — pushing for the US to have a carbon-free economy by 2050. The senator from Vermont also set a 2030 benchmark goal of reaching 100 percent renewable energy in the country's two most carbon-intensive industries, transportation and the power sector, by investing in solar, wind, and geothermal power. Sanders' plan would also declare climate change a national emergency, bring the US back on board with the Paris climate agreement, and commit $200 billion in funding to help developing nations cut their emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change.</blockquote>
<p>His plan earned a 94 out of 100 on <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a>'s <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/climate2020/" target="_blank">climate scorecard</a> and an <a href="https://medium.com/sunrisemvmt/sunrise-movement-endorses-bernie-sanders-for-president-b6bdb68ba408" target="_blank">endorsement</a> from pro-Green New Deal group the <a href="https://www.sunrisemovement.org/" target="_blank">Sunrise Movement</a>.</p><p>But after early primary victories in New Hampshire and Nevada, Sanders began to falter beside the more moderate Biden, who won in South Carolina, and then in 10 out of 14 Super Tuesday states after other more moderate contenders threw their support behind him, POLITICO explained. Biden continued to do well throughout March, and now has 1,127 delegates compared to Sanders' 914, according to the most recent delegate count from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/elections/delegate-count-primary-results.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p>
<p>Biden's climate policies are more moderate than Sanders' as of now. His plan has a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sanders-biden-climate-coronavirus-2645497732.html?rebelltitem=4#rebelltitem4" target="_self">much lower price tag</a> of $1.7 trillion dollars and a score of 72 out of 100 from Greenpeace. The organization applauded his commitment to achieving climate neutrality by 2050, investing in clean energy and restoring international climate leadership, but faulted him for not promising to ban all oil and gas drilling on public lands and to end all federal permits for fossil fuel infrastructure.</p><p>There is a chance Biden will ultimately run on a more ambitious plan, however. Sanders said he would keep his name on the ballot in the remaining primaries to boost his delegate count in order to have more influence over the party platform.</p><p>The Biden campaign is also working to bring in Sanders' supporters by incorporating some of his policies, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/08/us/politics/biden-sanders-campaign-policy.html?auth=login-google" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. In a virtual fundraiser Wednesday, Biden hinted he would add some more progressive ideas to his climate plan, and POLITICO reports he is in talks with the Sunrise Movement.</p><p>The Sunrise Movement is also one of a coalition of youth-led groups that sent a letter to Biden urging him to endorse certain policies including a Green New Deal.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1248011402494631936" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1248011402494631936&created_ts=1586384079.0&screen_name=sunrisemvmt&text=.%40JoeBiden+is+now+the+presumptive+Democratic+nominee.%0A%0ABut+he+wasn%E2%80%99t+able+to+win+over+the+vast+majority+of+voters+u%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FVXaw3P2lQv&id=1248011402494631936&name=Sunrise+Movement+%F0%9F%8C%85" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d3a9b1cd7c33c70dcdf68530984b5c77"></iframe>
<p>"If Joe Biden is going to be the nominee on the Democratic side, we are going to champion Joe Biden and put all muscle behind" his election, Sunrise Movement Executive Director Varshini Prakash told The New York Times. But then she addressed Biden directly, suggesting he also had work to do. "You haven't earned our vote yet," she said.</p>
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The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana has been converted to a 1,000-bed field hospital for coronavirus patients to alleviate stress on local hospitals. Chris Graythen / Getty Images
An area in Louisiana whose predominantly black and brown residents are hard-hit by health problems from industry overdevelopment is experiencing one of the highest death rates from coronavirus of any county in the United States.
<p>St. John the Baptist parish, which sits along the Gulf Coast region known as Cancer Alley, has seen 30 of its 43,000 residents die of Covid-19 since the outbreak began – a death rate of 68.7 per 100,000 people, compared to New York City's rate of 29. </p>
<p> "We were getting calls almost every hour," parish coroner Christy Montegut told The Guardian. "...They all died in the same way. They got to a hospital, were on a ventilator, but the body just couldn't keep going. They died in spite of full treatment. The virus is overwhelming." </p>
<h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/apr/07/cancer-alley-coronavirus-reserve-louisiana?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>, <a href="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/pke94n/cancer-alley-has-some-of-the-highest-coronavirus-death-rates-in-the-country?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">Vice</a>, <a href="https://www.nola.com/news/coronavirus/article_ad6caecc-7905-11ea-b8ad-7ff3f62ac403.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">Times-Picayune</a>, <a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/a-look-inside-a-rural-louisiana-hospital-on-the-front-lines-of-a-pandemic/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=86009723&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9O7CzxMNMlqWquKhJ3PgJMlwB6PdLVXggkKDAgxnwo57ue5pi11mY50_pt26T2aCtPsvxVnJFQ1mtgOSLAO-HZYZOZrUFb9MPvWOad7tp2ei4FELk&_hsmi=86009723" target="_blank">CA Healthline</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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