World Wildlife Federation
To help address this issue, World Wildlife Federation (WWF) and several other organizations launched a new initiative Nov. 8 called Hariyo Ban. Meaning “green forests” in Nepali, the project is funded through a $30 million U.S. Agency of International Development (USAID) grant.
The goal of this five-year project is to reduce the adverse impacts of climate change and threats to biodiversity in Nepal. Our approach includes:
- Effectively managing the landscape, especially through reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) readiness
- Increasing the ability of people and ecological communities to adapt to climate change impacts
Hariyo Ban will be implemented by WWF, CARE, National Trust for Nature Conservation and the Federation of Community Forest Users Group Nepal in two landscapes:
- The Terai Arc Landscape—located in southern Nepal—is home to tigers, rhinos and elephants. More than 7 million people live here. It boasts the world’s tallest grasslands and some of the best-known national parks. Its fertile ground has also made it the rice bowl of the country.
- The Chitwan-Annapurna Landscape ties the high Himalayas to the Terai. Within the newly minted landscape lie valuable watersheds that support a rich variety of wildlife, including key areas for snow leopards, red pandas and migratory birds. This landscape also harbors a wide variety of ethnic groups.
The project builds on a long-running relationship between WWF and USAID, which have been active in Nepal for several decades. For WWF, this project also marks a return to the world famous Annapurna Conservation Area, which was created through the pioneering efforts of the late Mingma Sherpa and Dr. Chandra Gurung, both of WWF.
“This ambitious project recognizes that forests are truly the wealth of Nepal, as forests not only support the livelihoods of millions of people and provide a safe haven for endangered species but also are vital to combat the impacts of climate change," said Judy Oglethorpe, WWF chief of party, Hariyo Ban Program.
For more information, click here.
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Coronavirus Cases Spike in the South, But Decline in the Northeast — Here’s How
29m
Health + Wellness
Commuters arrive at Grand Central Station with Metro-North during morning rush hour on June 8, 2020 in New York City. Angela Weiss / AFP / Getty Images
By Taison Bell
"Hospital Capacity Crosses Tipping Point in U.S. Coronavirus Hot Spots" – Wall Street Journal
This is a headline I hoped to not see again after the number of coronavirus infections had finally started to decline in the Northeast and Pacific Northwest. However, the pandemic has now shifted to the South and the West – with Arizona, Florida, California and Texas as hot spots.
<p>At the same time, cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests in Northeastern states <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html" target="_blank">have declined</a>. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo <a href="https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-updates-new-yorkers-states-progress-during-covid-19-pandemic" target="_blank">recently declared</a>, "We now have the lowest transmission rate in the United States of America." In fact, there are now <a href="https://covidtracking.com/data" target="_blank">more daily hospitalizations in Arizona</a> than in New York, Pennsylvania and the entire Northeast combined.</p><p>What explains the difference?</p><p>My physician colleagues and I have learned a lot since a mysterious respiratory virus first appeared in mainland China over six months ago. We can now rattle off stats about the coronavirus as if we were sports commentators. It spreads through <a href="https://theconversation.com/aerosols-are-a-bigger-coronavirus-threat-than-who-guidelines-suggest-heres-what-you-need-to-know-142233" target="_blank">droplets and aerosols</a>. It binds to <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-ace2-receptor-how-is-it-connected-to-coronavirus-and-why-might-it-be-key-to-treating-covid-19-the-experts-explain-136928" target="_blank">ACE-2 receptors</a> in the lungs. It can last on certain surfaces <a href="https://theconversation.com/viruses-live-on-doorknobs-and-phones-and-can-get-you-sick-smart-cleaning-and-good-habits-can-help-protect-you-133054" target="_blank">up to 72 hours</a>. It can cause loss of <a href="https://theconversation.com/is-the-loss-of-your-sense-of-smell-and-taste-an-early-sign-of-covid-19-134623" target="_blank">taste and smell</a>.</p><p>We could go on and on if you pressed us, but the most important thing we have learned is how it spreads and how to slow it down. A critical piece of that – and a key difference between the Northeast today and many of the areas where coronavirus is spreading now – is people's behavior.</p>
Hard-Hit States Quickly Learned Value of Masks
<p>As a respiratory virus, SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted mainly through droplets that leave the mouth and nose as a person talks, sneezes, coughs or exhales. It thrives in environments where there are lots of people in enclosed spaces – <a href="https://theconversation.com/aerosols-are-a-bigger-coronavirus-threat-than-who-guidelines-suggest-heres-what-you-need-to-know-142233" target="_blank">especially if they are laughing, talking, singing</a> or otherwise coming into close contact. It thrives physically in the same settings where we thrive socially.</p><p>This is why the early hard-hit areas were able to crush the curve by closing businesses and implementing stay-at-home orders. Without significant close human interaction, the coronavirus couldn't spread.</p><p>While other states are now seeing hospitals fill with COVID-19 patients, most of the Northeast is maintaining control of community spread as its economies reopen. The difference reflects, at least in part, each state's behavior expectations and the willingness of residents to keep up safety precautions like wearing masks, avoiding large crowds, maintaining social distance of at least six feet and staying isolated when they are ill or may have been exposed to the virus.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTAwMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMjI3NDkxMn0.KUwTGToa8Vosmw4SXE3TwiMIYVmxGFB5b95xr2sxIVQ/img.png?width=980" id="d7aab" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5d41d0703e21df5a2d6d66d0d7d7897a" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
<p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/07/08/gina-raimondo-interview-rhode-island-governor-covid-353799" target="_blank">Rhode Island</a> is an example. When the state began allowing businesses to reopen in early May, Gov. Gina Raimondo said <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200505/raimondo-to-require-face-coverings-in-rsquopublic-placesrsquo-ri-reports-14-deaths-281-new-cases-of-coronavirus" target="_blank">success would depend on how people behaved</a> – if they continued social distancing and wearing masks. Rhode Island is small, but it sits in the middle of the busy New York-Boston corridor. It was one of the first states to close businesses and schools, and one of the first to require people to wear face masks in public places. To locate the virus and stop its spread, it launched partnerships to make testing widely available and developed a contact tracing program with regular check-ins through a phone app. It also required travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days.</p><p>"We have to embrace new ways of living our lives," Raimondo said in May.</p><p>Two months later, <a href="https://ri-department-of-health-covid-19-data-rihealth.hub.arcgis.com/" target="_blank">Rhode Island's case numbers are down</a>. The state <a href="https://health.ri.gov/diseases/ncov2019/testindex.php" target="_blank">still requires mask-wearing in public places</a>, and, importantly, people do it. State inspectors found <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/news/coronavirus/gov-raimondo-to-give-update-on-coronavirus-in-ri/2155862/" target="_blank">more than 90% of businesses were in compliance</a> with mask-wearing rules over the July 4 holiday.</p>
How Rhode Island's Daily COVID-19 Case Numbers Fell
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MTAwOS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyNDE1MDUxMH0.Ce8r6qCwhkJm8D8vUnTl5CblhFPXj_eBIlYqJ5yobqE/img.png?width=980" id="32ce3" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f15da39d4dab6393216510dbed678840" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" /><p>Northeastern states now <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/26/politics/maskwearing-coronavirus-analysis/index.html" target="_blank">lead the nation</a> in mask-wearing and adherence to other best practices. An <a href="https://www.mercurynews.com/2020/06/26/which-part-of-the-u-s-leads-the-country-in-mask-wearing/" target="_blank">Axios/Ipsos poll</a> showed that in states with high mask use, virus circulation is at <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/health/coronavirus/covid-19-coronavirus-face-masks-infection-rates-20200624.html" target="_blank">lower levels compared to states with less mask use</a>. Studies on the <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-020-0908-8" target="_blank">effects of how quickly coronavirus restrictions have been lifted</a> around the world have found that slow, careful strategies have led to fewer illnesses and deaths during reopening.</p><p>In many parts of the Northeast, the months of illnesses, deaths and the struggle to turn the COVID-19 tide are still <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/06/23/most-americans-say-they-regularly-wore-a-mask-in-stores-in-the-past-month-fewer-see-others-doing-it/" target="_blank">fresh in people's minds</a>. The progress isn't uniform, however. <a href="https://gothamist.com/news/coronavirus-cases-among-20-somethings-nyc-rise-prompting-de-blasio-issue-new-mask-guidance" target="_blank">New York City's mayor has expressed concern</a> about an uptick in positive cases among people in their 20s.</p>The Problems of a Political Divide
<p>Elsewhere in the country, the current surge in COVID-19 cases <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-surges-of-the-coronavirus-across-the-nation-could-force-more-shutdowns/2020/06/12/e6985b94-acd9-11ea-a9d9-a81c1a491c52_story.html" target="_blank">began to pick up after Memorial Day weekend</a>, when people in several states that hadn't seen the same toll from the pandemic let their guard down. <a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-19-messes-with-texas-what-went-wrong-and-what-other-states-can-learn-as-younger-people-get-sick-141563" target="_blank">Video and pictures</a> showed parties, barbecues, crowded beaches and political rallies – all with very little social distancing or mask-wearing – giving more fuel for the coronavirus to spread.</p><p>Despite the overwhelming evidence for what we should be doing, following the advice of public health experts has also, sadly, become politicized. Depending on the news sources people listen to, they might hear warnings from health officials being taken seriously or being dismissed by pundits and politicians.</p><p>A <a href="https://www.axios.com/axios-ipsos-poll-coronavirus-index-15-weeks-e4eb53cc-9bc8-4cac-8285-07e5e5ef6b2b.html" target="_blank">recent national poll</a> shows that Democrats report consistently wearing a mask 68% of the time, while Republicans reported doing the same only 34% of the time. The national conversation has devolved into a false dichotomy: Either you're on the side of prioritizing safety or you're on the side of personal freedom and opening the economy.</p><p>In reality, the two should be partners, as these preventative measures are the best tools we have to reach our common goals of reopening businesses and schools safely. It's the same reason we stop at stoplights and go through metal detectors at the airport – we make a small sacrifice for the greater public good.</p><p>For the foreseeable future, Americans will have to collectively agree to live life a little differently. Until we can all agree on this, the coronavirus will continue to have the upper hand, and our health and wealth will suffer.</p>
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Trump Announces Final Rollback of Law That Gives Communities a Say in Fossil Fuel Projects
1h
Politics
Trump first announces his proposed rollback of the National Environmental Policy Act in January. NICHOLAS KAMM / AFP via Getty Images
President Donald Trump announced the final rollback of the "Magna Carta" of U.S. environmental laws on Wednesday, The New York Times reported.
<p>The target of Trump's latest rollback is the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-environmental-policy-act" target="_self">National Environmental Policy Act</a> (NEPA), which was signed into law by Richard Nixon 50 years ago, <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/15/trump-to-weaken-national-environmental-policy-act.html" target="_blank">CNBC explained</a>. It requires the federal government to consider the environmental impacts of major infrastructure projects like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self">pipelines</a> and highways and gives communities a chance to speak up on projects that will impact them. Advocates say its rollback will disproportionately harm low-income communities of color, who tend to be exposed to higher pollution levels.</p><p>"The Trump administration's anti-environment agenda is a racist agenda. Dismantling NEPA is a blatant attempt to silence the working class communities of color who are resisting the expansion of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> infrastructure into their communities," <a href="https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/" target="_blank">Greenpeace</a> senior climate campaigner Lisa Ramsden told CNBC.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Trump is slated to announce a major rollback of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NEPA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NEPA</a> today — a bedrock environmental law that gives impacted and frontline communities a voice in weighing in on federal infrastructure projects that threaten public health and safety. <a href="https://t.co/ByXWIZfgb4">https://t.co/ByXWIZfgb4</a></p>— Greenpeace USA (@greenpeaceusa) <a href="https://twitter.com/greenpeaceusa/status/1283446318980124672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>NEPA has recently been instrumental in key legal setbacks for controversial energy projects like the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dakota-access-pipeline-shut-down-2646355663.html" target="_self">Dakota Access</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/keystone-xl-pipeline-2646357674.html" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipelines, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2020/07/15/891190100/trump-overhauls-key-environmental-law-to-speed-up-pipelines-and-other-projects" target="_blank">NPR pointed out</a>.</p><p>Trump announced the rollback, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-environment-infrastructure-review-2644664081.html" target="_self">which was first proposed in January</a>, at the UPS Hapeville Airport Hub in Atlanta, Georgia. He recalled being frustrated by the slow pace of the NEPA process as a construction magnate in New York and said the revised regulations would speed the expansion of I-75, a major Georgia thoroughfare for truckers, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-53425238" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>.</p><p>"This is a historical breakthrough that means better roads and highways," Trump said, as BBC News reported. "We are reclaiming America's proud heritage as a nation that gets things done."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Together we are reclaiming America’s proud heritage as a nation of builders! 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/rznjEOTc54">pic.twitter.com/rznjEOTc54</a></p>— The White House (@WhiteHouse) <a href="https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1283602001817997312?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 16, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>Specifically, the administration is making the following changes, as The New York Times reported:</p><ol><li>Environmental studies will have to be completed in only one to two years.</li><li>Certain activities will be exempted from environmental reviews altogether.</li><li>Federal agencies will no longer have to consider a project's "cumulative" effects on the environment, such as its impacts on the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</li></ol><p>Trump argued that the changes would save hundreds of millions of dollars over almost a decade because they would speed reviews. He has also pushed to loosen regulations to boost the economy in the wake of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic. In June, he <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-environmental-law-black-community-2646154471.html" target="_self">signed</a> an executive order mandating agencies bypass NEPA in order to expedite certain projects.</p>
<p>But Belinda Archibong, an assistant professor of economics at Barnard College of Columbia University, told The New York Times that simply lifting regulations did not do much to boost the economy.</p><p>"Saying 'We're going to pull back on regulation' does not mean that firms are going to start hiring more people. That's complete nonsense. All that's going to happen is it's going to lead to more pollution, period," Archibong said.</p><p>Trump has rolled back 100 environmental rules while in office, and this is one of the largest.</p><p>"This may be the single biggest giveaway to polluters in the past 40 years," Brett Hartl, government affairs director at the <a href="https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/" target="_blank">Center for Biological Diversity</a> (CBD), said in an email to EcoWatch. "The Trump administration is turning back the clock to when rivers caught fire, our air was unbreathable, and our most beloved wildlife was spiraling toward extinction. The foundational law of the modern environmental movement has been turned into a rubber stamp to enrich for-profit corporations, and we doubt the courts will stand for that."</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">HAPPENING NOW: While our most vulnerable communities continue to bear the brunt of the pandemic, the Trump administration has just finalized rollbacks to the National Environmental Policy Act and jeopardized the health and safety of everyone in America. <a href="https://t.co/nfEfmF7N57">https://t.co/nfEfmF7N57</a></p>— Center for Bio Div (@CenterForBioDiv) <a href="https://twitter.com/CenterForBioDiv/status/1283536555492155394?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2020</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
<p>While green groups have promised to sue to stop the changes, this may not be necessary. If Trump loses the November election, Congress could reverse the changes with a simple majority and the signature of the new president, CNBC pointed out. Democratic candidate and former Vice President <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/joe-biden" target="_self">Joe Biden</a> has promised to undo Trump's environmental rollbacks if elected.</p>
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These seven cookbooks by Black chefs have inspired the author's family. LightFieldStudios / Getty Images
By Zahida Sherman
Cooking has always intimidated me. As a child, I would anxiously peer into the kitchen as my mother prepared Christmas dinner for our family.
<p>My grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles would all pour into our home throughout the day, eagerly awaiting their favorite dish.</p><p>During those times, my mom transformed into executive chef and drill sergeant, sending my sister and me on grocery store runs for obscure ingredients or directing us to remove cobwebs from forgotten corners of the house.</p><p>The scents wafting from my mom's magic entrées and appetizers were intoxicating. They made all the toil worth it.</p><p>Our home burst with the scent of warm syrupy-sweet yams, smoked turkey necks drowning in collard greens, a countertop completely covered by her pound cake, and sweet potato pie whipped to perfection.</p><p>I always looked forward to those family dinners, my relatives' laughing faces, and their overflowing plates.</p><p>As much as I loved our quality family time, those dinners fueled my fear of cooking. I could never accept and conquer the mental preparation it required: the brainstorming, the grocery lists, the grocery store lines, the time management.</p><p>I couldn't bear the hefty expectations of cooking as a way to maintain our Black American cultural and family traditions, a mix of Southern roots with Pacific Northwest nuance.</p><p>I added cooking to the list of things that I knew were important, but that I probably would never really care about (kind of like backing up my devices regularly). I didn't want to spend the necessary energy to learn how to achieve those glorious family dinners — or even everyday meals.</p><p>Cooking required too much pressure and preparation. Cooking required too much of myself.</p>
Falling in Love With Food All Over Again
<p>Slowly, through my most intimate relationships with friends and partners, I began to see the beauty — and rewards — of cooking.</p><p>I got tired of giving in to defeat and always bringing chips or paper products to social gatherings. I started asking my mom to send me her Christmas and Thanksgiving recipes. I even volunteered to host Thanksgiving dinner at my place.</p><p>Each time I heard my loved ones sing the praises of the foods I prepared for them, I felt a tinge more confident that I could carry out our traditions my way.</p><p>In reaching out to other relatives for their favorite recipes, I learned that they had a little help of their own. They didn't rely solely on their ancestral cooking instincts. They turned to Black chefs for guidance.</p><p>These 7 cookbooks by Black chefs have inspired my family and fed us in nutrients, joy, and spiritual sustenance. They're also helping me overcome my personal fears of cooking.</p><h3><a href="https://amzn.to/2O6B7SG" target="_blank">Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking</a></h3><p><em>by Toni Tipton-Martin</em></p><p>Who says a cookbook can't also be a history lesson?</p><p>Tipton-Martin draws on her nutritionist and food activist background to amass over 125 recipes that demonstrate the complexity and nuance of soul food.</p><p>"Jubilee" pushes beyond the trope of <a href="http://blackfoodie.co/the-humble-history-of-soul-food" target="_blank">soul food as survival</a> wherein enslaved and impoverished Africans created a new cuisine out of plantation scraps. The author showcases the culinary skills of Black chefs who were enslaved, entrepreneurs, upper class, and everything in between.</p><p>Whether it's the black-eyed pea fritters, okra gumbo, or braised lamb shanks with peanut sauce, you will be joyfully full.</p><h3><a href="https://amzn.to/2C9yxZv" target="_blank">The Red Rooster Cookbook: The Story of Food and Hustle in Harlem</a></h3><p><em>by Marcus Samuelsson</em></p><p>Many years ago, I had the pleasure of dining at Chef Samuelsson's Red Rooster restaurant in Harlem. It was undoubtedly my bougiest Black fantasy.</p><p>The food was simple but decadent, and the ambiance was Black, beautiful, and triumphant, much like the neighborhood. Samuelsson's cookbook leans into his Swedish-Ethiopian and Afropolitan experiences with recipes for chicken and waffles, cornbread and bird funk, wild wild wings, and donuts with sweet potato cream.</p><p><span></span>Interspersed with poignant photos of Harlem, this cookbook is Samuelson's tribute to this culturally iconic neighborhood.</p>
<h3><a href="https://amzn.to/2BOAsTl" target="_blank">Eat Yourself Sexy: Eat Your Way to Shiny Hair, Glowing Skin and Weight Loss</a></h3><p><em>by Lauren Von Der Pool</em></p><p>If she's a good enough chef for Stevie Wonder, Common, First Lady Michelle Obama, Dr. Sebi, and Venus and Serena Williams, she's good enough for me!</p><p>Celebrity chef Von Der Pool wrote "Eat Yourself Sexy" to empower female-identified readers on their inner journey toward sexiness through raw food and homemade beauty products.</p><p>If you're intimidated by a plant-based diet or DIY beauty, this is a must-read. Chef Von Der Pool's simple recipes, stunning photos, and comprehensive information about eating whole foods will inspire you to get started.</p><h3><a href="https://amzn.to/2Z67Aik" target="_blank">The Seasoned Life: Food, Family, Faith, and the Joy of Eating Well</a></h3><p><em>by Ayesha Curry</em></p><p>Outspoken and unapologetic <a href="https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/ayeshas-home-kitchen" target="_blank">Food Network</a> host, restaurateur, mom, and wife Ayesha Curry, gifts readers with 100 recipes that are perfect for your hectic work-life balance.</p><p>My older sister (also coincidentally named Aisha) has fed our family with Curry's recipes that range from mouthwatering brown sugar bacon, game day chili, and harvest sangria, to white chocolate bread pudding and butternut squash mash.</p><p>"The Seasoned Life" shows audiences why Ayesha is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjU7BYcJwIw" target="_blank">Chef Curry with the pot</a>.</p>
<h3><a href="https://amzn.to/3ebOUSy" target="_blank">Black Girl Baking: Wholesome Recipes Inspired by a Soulful Upbringing</a></h3><p><em>by Jerrelle Guy</em></p><p>Inspired by #blackgirlmagic, this cookbook is Guy's empowering journey of accepting her fullest self through cooking.</p><p>Perhaps what makes her cookbook so defining is her insistence that readers abandon the idea of baking perfection and fall in love with the process of baking instead.</p><p>The recipes don't disappoint, either. Strawberry balsamic cupcakes, sweet potato rice crispies, and peanut butter jelly bread? Yes, please!</p><h3><a href="https://amzn.to/2Cj16DG" target="_blank">Brown Sugar Kitchen: New-Style, Down-Home Recipes from Sweet West Oakland</a></h3><p><em>by Tanya Holland</em></p><p>Inspired by Chef Holland's <a href="http://www.brownsugarkitchen.com/" target="_blank">Brown Sugar Kitchen</a> restaurant in Oakland, California, her cookbook offers over 80 recipes that are simply delicious.</p><p>Her soul food entrées include everything from shrimp gumbo, black-eyed peas' salad, chili glazed salmon, to cornmeal waffles with apple cider syrup.</p><p>While Bryant doesn't shy away from popular favorites like fried chicken, she includes alternative options for eaters with dietary restrictions.</p><h3><a href="https://amzn.to/3faKPiL" target="_blank">Afro-Vegan: Farm-Fresh African, Caribbean, and Southern Flavors Remixed</a></h3><p><em>by Bryant Terry</em></p><p>Food activist and chef Bryant Terry offers perfectly seasoned vegan recipes from the African Diaspora that will impress even your most carnivorous dinner guests.</p><p>Terry combines ingredients from seemingly disparate regions like North Africa, the American South, and the Caribbean into delicious dishes like sweet potato and lima bean tagine, pomegranate peach BBQ sauce, and skillet cornbread with pecan dukkah.</p><p>"Afro-Vegan" even includes <a href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120816477" target="_blank">genre-diverse playlists</a> to accompany Terry's recipes. My aunt's personal favorite is the savory grits with slow-cooked collard greens. You can listen to the accompanying song, "The Funk," <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWeLT0TtCxg&list=PLtY2PDlMkxiujDaVlVBvl5spkvdzra8ZE" target="_blank">here</a>.</p>
Get Cooking
Whether you're in recovery from cooking fears like me, or are just looking to expand your culinary confidence with dishes honoring Black heritage, these Black chefs are here to support you on your journey.Turn on some music, give yourself permission to make mistakes, and throw down for yourself or your loved ones. Glorious flavors await you.From Your Site Articles
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Hand sanitizer is offered to students during summer school sessions at Happy Day School in Monterey Park, California on July 9, 2020. FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expanded its list of potentially toxic hand sanitizers to avoid because they could be contaminated with methanol.
<p>Methanol, or wood alcohol, can be toxic when absorbed through the skin and deadly when swallowed. The FDA now lists 67 hand sanitizers that have been recalled, tested positively for methanol contamination or were reportedly made in the same facility as labels that tested positive.</p><p>"That should never be in a hand sanitizer," ABC News chief medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton told the <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Wellness/fda-expands-list-potentially-dangerous-hand-sanitizers/story?id=71748712" target="_blank">network Monday</a>. "Its absorption can produce toxic, and in some cases, deadly results."</p>
<div id="f3fee" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="289b1e89e75b500e98fb5c3ce763b3ea"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1281006632416284676" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We're alerting consumers & health care professionals that additional hand sanitizer products have been added to our… https://t.co/tBgOSGsI5e</div> — U.S. FDA (@U.S. FDA)<a href="https://twitter.com/US_FDA/statuses/1281006632416284676">1594250755.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The FDA issued an initial warning <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-advises-consumers-not-use-hand-sanitizer-products-manufactured-eskbiochem" target="_blank">June 19</a> for nine hand sanitizers made by the company Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico. Since then, the agency has added dozens of other products and continues to investigate the use of methanol in hand sanitizer. The product has become incredibly popular since February, when the threat of the new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> began to spread, and this has led to shortages of familiar brands like Purell, as well as the emergence of new brands to meet the demand, <a href="https://eu.usatoday.com/story/money/2020/07/11/hand-sanitizers-recalled-methanol-risk-avoid-these-kinds/5420188002/" target="_blank">USA TODAY pointed out</a>.</p><p>"All Americans should practice good hand hygiene, which includes using alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not readily available. Unfortunately, there are some companies taking advantage of the increased usage of hand sanitizer during the coronavirus pandemic and putting lives at risk by selling products with dangerous and unacceptable ingredients. Consumers and health care providers should not use methanol-containing hand sanitizers," FDA Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in a <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/coronavirus-covid-19-update-fda-takes-action-warn-protect-consumers-dangerous-alcohol-based-hand" target="_blank">July 2 press release</a>.</p>
<p>The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that people use hand sanitizers that are 60 percent or more ethanol, or ethyl alcohol, according to ABC News. The products flagged by the FDA are labeled as containing ethanol, but tested positive for methanol despite this.</p><p>Methanol is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide and fuel source, <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750029.html" target="_blank">according to the CDC</a>. Exposure can cause nausea, confusion, dizziness, headaches, blindness, heart and respiratory failure, coma and even death.</p><p>"Consumers who have been exposed to hand sanitizer containing methanol and are experiencing symptoms should seek immediate treatment for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning," the FDA warned.</p><p>The agency said young children who drink hand sanitizer by mistake or teenagers or adults who drink it as an alcohol substitute are most at risk. The FDA has already received reports of children and adults who have gone blind, been hospitalized and died because they drank hand sanitizer contaminated with methanol.<br></p>
<p>Many of the contaminated hand sanitizers were sold under the brand name Blumen, according to ABC News. Some of this brand's products were available at the major retailer BJ's.</p><p>ABC7-WJLA health reporter Victoria Sanchez found a spot for impacted brand Modesa at a Family Dollar, but the store had sold out. However, the company website said the brand was available in store, <a href="https://wjla.com/news/local/some-companies-turning-to-toxic-ingredients-for-hand-sanitizer-fda" target="_blank">ABC7-WJLA reported</a>.</p>
<div id="be4b0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8d940a3d494d7c302a12e238d708892e"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1283083788852092929" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">I’m on the hunt to see if recalled hand sanitizer is still on store shelves. At my fourth stop, I found Family Doll… https://t.co/VbzHW0bQmi</div> — Victoria Sanchez (@Victoria Sanchez)<a href="https://twitter.com/VictoriaSanchez/statuses/1283083788852092929">1594745988.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Dollar Tree, Inc., which owns Family Dollar, said the product it sold had not been recalled.</p><p>"We are aware of the recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report regarding certain hand sanitizer product. The third party manufacturer and supplier of this product has confirmed that none of our product contains methanol or was otherwise contaminated. The third party manufacturer and supplier has now issued a formal recall of certain potentially contaminated product and our hand sanitizer was not included on this list. We and the third party manufacturer and supplier are working to clarify this matter with the FDA," a spokesperson told ABC7 in an email.</p><p>However, the FDA has encouraged customers not to use any hand sanitizers made by the companies whose products tested positive.</p>
<p>According to USA TODAY, the companies behind the contaminated hand sanitizers include:</p><ol><li>4E Global, which makes the Blumen and Modesa brands</li><li>AAA Cosmetica</li><li>DDI Multinacional</li><li>Eskbiochem</li><li>Grupo Insoma</li><li>Limpo Quimicos</li><li>Liqesa Exportacion</li><li>Maquiladora Miniara</li><li>Mystic International</li><li>Soluciones Cosmeticas</li><li>Tropicosmeticos</li><li>Yara Elena De La Garza Perez Nieto</li></ol><br>To find out if the hand sanitizer in your medicine cabinet is impacted, you can search a more detailed FDA database <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-updates-hand-sanitizers-methanol#products" target="_blank">here</a>. Shoppers should also watch out for any hand sanitizers that say FDA-approved, because the agency does not issue formal approvals for hand sanitizers, ABC News advised.
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Over the next couple of weeks, crews will fully remove the 125-foot-wide, 25-foot-tall dam, allowing the Middle Fork Nooksack to run free for the first time in 60 years. Ctyonahl / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0
By Tara Lohan
The conclusion to decades of work to remove a dam on the Middle Fork Nooksack River east of Bellingham, Washington began with a bang yesterday as crews breached the dam with a carefully planned detonation. This explosive denouement is also a beginning.
<p><br/></p>
<p class=""><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/taralohan/" target="_blank"><em>Tara Lohan </em></a><em>is deputy editor of The Revelator and has worked for more than a decade as a digital editor and environmental journalist focused on the intersections of energy, water and climate. Her work has been published by The Nation, American Prospect, High Country News, Grist, Pacific Standard and others. She is the editor of two books on the global water crisis.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://therevelator.org/nooksack-dam-removal/?utm_source=feedly&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=nooksack-dam-removal" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>
<p>Over the next couple of weeks, crews will fully remove the 125-foot-wide, 25-foot-tall dam, allowing the Middle Fork Nooksack to run free for the first time in 60 years. With the dam's removal, 16 miles of river and tributary habitat will open up to help boost populations of three threatened Puget Sound fish species: Chinook salmon, steelhead and bull trout.</p><p>"This project has always ranked at the top of the list for fish recovery projects in this area because of the sheer number of miles of river habitat that are available upstream in a fairly remote and pristine area," says Renee LaCroix, assistant public works director for the city of Bellingham, which owns the dam. "There's no other single project in this area that can match this."</p><p>Two local tribes, the Nooksack and Lummi Nation, have been behind the effort to help restore fish passage and the river's ecological integrity.</p><p>"Our natural resources are our cultural resources," says Trevor Delgado, the Nooksack tribal historic preservation officer. "With this removal we get a little piece of our home back — a place where our people have visited for hundreds of generations."</p><p>LaCroix says the project has no downsides for the city, and it's expected to increase the resilience of the municipal water supply, remove a safety hazard for kayakers, help fish recovery and restore culturally significant resources for the tribes.</p><p>Proponents also hope to see indirect benefits for <a href="https://therevelator.org/save-southern-resident-killer-whales-extinction/" target="_blank">endangered Southern Resident killer whales</a>. This population of orcas ranges across Pacific Northwest coastal waters and <a href="https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/southern-resident-killer-whale/" target="_blank">relies on dwindling numbers of Chinook</a> as a main food source. Fewer than 80 of the whales remain, and Chinook populations have fallen so low that the orcas have started <a href="https://www.q13fox.com/news/chinook-salmon-decimated-southern-resident-orcas-are-residents-no-more" target="_blank">altering their traditional migration patterns</a> as they search for fish to eat.</p><p>But even with the dam removal's many benefits and municipal and tribal support, the path to this moment hasn't been easy.</p>
The History
<p>The Middle Fork Nooksack drains glacier-fed headwater streams that run off the icy summit of 10,778-foot Mt. Baker. The Middle Fork joins the North Fork and then the mainstem of the Nooksack River, which travels to Bellingham Bay and Puget Sound. The entire Nooksack watershed stretches 830 square miles across Washington and into British Columbia.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ1ODg5Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0OTM4MjU3OX0.xukdfxAnfHt_A24vvWHf30SCX0R9jk3qcWK6PcBHyhI/img.png?width=980" id="c3923" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="0033be9942c3db23fca400a4533dfc6e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
American Rivers
<p>For generations the river and its surrounding habitat have physically and spiritually nourished Indigenous peoples — including the Nooksack Indian Tribe and the Lummi Nation.</p><p>But all that changed when the dam was built in in 1961 to divert water to the city of Bellingham to supplement its main water supply in Lake Whatcom — the drinking water for the now-85,000 residents in the city and county. As soon as it went up, the dam obstructed fish passage, altered the river's flow, and disrupted the ability of tribal members to use a culturally significant area.</p><p>For the past four decades, Delgado says, the Nooksack have pushed for dam removal. They got close in the early 2000s, when the Nooksack and Lummi Nation entered into an official agreement with the city and state to work on a solution that would allow fish passage, including the possible installation of fish ladders. But despite years of work, a suitable fix wasn't found, and the effort had completely stalled by 2016.</p><p>The following year the nonprofit <a href="https://www.americanrivers.org/" target="_blank">American Rivers</a>, which works on watershed restoration and has extensive experience in dam-removal efforts, stepped in with financial backing from the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. American Rivers' April McEwan assumed a project management role and brought parties back to the table and soon into agreement on a plan to remove the dam and reengineer the city's water intake from the river.</p><p>"What we know about dam removal is that if you can remove the infrastructure and restore the channel to natural conditions, that's always the best way to get fish passage," says McEwan.</p><p>The final cost of the project came in at around $20 million — way more than the city could afford on its own. About half of the cost eventually came from the state and the city is collaborating with federal agencies on the distribution of another $2 million in Pacific Salmon Treaty funds. But before applying for that money, the city had to complete costly initial design and permitting work. Private foundations — largely the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, along with Resources Legacy Fund — picked up 70% of those initial costs.</p><p>LaCroix says help from American Rivers and the foundations was hugely important in getting the project "shovel ready" so it could apply for the construction funds it needed.</p><p>Removing the dam infrastructure was just part of the cost, though. Reworking the city's water intake also required some tricky engineering.</p>
A Plan Comes Together
<p>The Middle Fork dam is not a pool dam built for water storage. Much of the time, water flows over the top until dam operators drop a floodgate to divert water to new locations. That water travels about 14 miles through tunnel and pipeline to Mirror Lake, then Anderson Creek, and to Lake Whatcom before finally being delivered to residents' taps.</p><p>Before removing the dam, engineers had to move the water intake 700 feet upstream and situate it at an elevation that still enabled city water withdrawals throughout the year, regardless of flow conditions.</p><p>They also needed to make sure that the rushing water didn't sweep up fish and accidentally send them through the water-supply system.</p><p>"The solution required a fairly complex design in the intake structure, including a fish exit pipe out of that structure to put fish back into the river in a way that meets current environmental permit standards," explains LaCroix.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ1ODk1Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTcxODcyN30.stOgraXNQZGmfADeQUdXCB2RR3Aka6FwLOxl377s-3w/img.jpg?width=980" id="7669a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7ee070ad97b1353f5baa7c8886acb341" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Project layout for the removal of the Middle Fork Nooksack diversion dam and rebuilding of water intake. City of Bellingham
<p>Despite the cost and the work, she says, being able to continue to meet their municipal water obligations while opening up habitat for threatened species has been a win-win.</p><p>"I think there's a lot of benefits to having a dam removal versus fish passage — the main one being that you get a free-flowing river that can be a dynamic ecosystem and change over time," she says. "A static fish ladder just can't provide that same level of ecosystem benefit."</p>Restoration Success
<p>Despite local authorities' championing dam removal on the Middle Fork, the project has largely flown under the radar, overshadowed in the Pacific Northwest by heated discussions about a much larger potential project — removing <a href="https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/feds-reject-removal-of-4-snake-river-dams-in-key-report/" target="_blank">four federal hydroelectric dams on the lower Snake River</a>, a major tributary of the Columbia River.</p><p>Proponents of dam removal there see it as the best chance for recovering threatened salmon populations, including Chinook, which could help starving Southern Resident killer whales. Those dams also provide irrigation water, barge navigation and hydropower, so there's been more pushback against removal efforts.</p><p>Previous dam removals around the country, however, have proved successful at aiding fish recovery and river restoration.</p><p>Most notably the 1999 demolition of <a href="https://therevelator.org/edwards-dam-removal/" target="_blank">Edwards Dam on Maine's Kennebec River</a> restored the annual run of alewives, a type of herring essential to the food web. The fish run has gone from zero to 5 million in the two decades since dam removal. Blueback herring, striped bass, sturgeon and shad have also extended their reach. And the resurgence has brought back osprey, bald eagles and other wildlife, too.</p><p>The overwhelming success of river restoration on the Kennebec helped to spur a nationwide dam removal movement that's now seen 1,200 dams come down since 1999. Last year a record <a href="https://www.americanrivers.org/conservation-resource/a-record-26-states-removed-dams-in-2019/" target="_blank">90 dams</a> were removed in 26 states, including <a href="https://therevelator.org/cleveland-forest-dam-removal/" target="_blank">20 dams in California's Cleveland National Forest</a>.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ1ODk4MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1NjM5NTQ0Nn0.X2icIzmemq9oxKqfGRz4nox9rsOYZMTgUCLbCTGc5ZE/img.jpg?width=980" id="e9db0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7f227785f21cb59b1ff2fd70db6ccc6c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Spider excavators remove on dam on San Juan Creek in California's Cleveland National Forest. Julie Donnell, USFS
<p>The results have been seen in the Pacific Northwest, as well, which boasts the largest dam removal thus far in the country. In 2011 and 2014, the demolition of <a href="https://therevelator.org/elwha-dam-removal/" target="_blank">two dams</a> on Elwha River, which runs through Washington's Olympic National Park, opened up 70 miles of habitat that had been blocked for a century. Scientists have started seeing all five species of salmon native to the river coming back, particularly Chinook and coho. Bull trout, they've observed, have increased in size since the dams were removal.</p>Benefits on the Middle Fork Nooksack
<p>McEwan hopes to see a similar outcome on the Middle Fork.</p><p>Like the Elwha the Middle Fork Nooksack is a relatively pristine river with little development, and dam removal is expected to provide a big boost to fish. The additional miles of spawning habitat are important, but so is the temperature of that water.</p><p>The dam removal will open access to cold upstream waters, which are ideal for salmon and getting harder to come by as climate change warms waters and reduces mountain runoff.</p><p>"This is really great for the climate change resiliency for these species," says McEwan.</p><p>Steelhead will get back 45% of their historic habitat in the river, and scientists expect Chinook populations to increase in abundance by 31%.</p><p>That <em>could</em> help Southern Resident killer whales.</p><p>"When you get to the ocean, it's a little bit of a black box in terms of what you can model and say definitively is going to help, but more fish is better for orcas," McEwan says.</p><p>Upstream habitat will see benefits, too.</p><p>Oceangoing fish like salmon enrich their bodies with carbon and nitrogen while at sea. When they return to their natal rivers to spawn and die, the marine-derived nutrients they carry back upriver become important food and fertilizer for both riverine and terrestrial ecosystems — aiding everything from trees to birds to bears.</p><p>"Once the fish start making their way back, it will start changing the whole ecological system," says Delgado.</p><p><span></span>But any ecological benefit from salmon restoration, either in the ocean or the upper watershed, won't be immediate.<br></p><p>"The population of salmon on the Middle Fork is so low that we expect it's going to take quite a while to rebound," she says. "But the big picture is that what's good for salmon is good for the region — our history and our destiny are intricately intertwined."</p><p>After decades of work, that process of restoration has finally begun.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A man observes a flooded stretch of Dock Street in Annapolis, Maryland on Jan. 25, 2010. Matt Rath / Chesapeake Bay Program
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Tuesday that a trend of increased coastal flooding will continue to worsen as the climate crisis escalates.
<p>Increased flooding is happening even without storms. "Nuisance" or "sunny day" high-tide flooding is becoming more commonplace across the U.S., according to the NOAA report that warns such flooding will worsen in the decades to come as <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">seas continue to rise</a>, according to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/07/14/coastal-flooding-continue-increase-noaa-report-says/5437524002/" target="_blank">USA Today</a>.</p><p>The agency noted record levels of high-tide flooding in 2019. Some of the hardest hit areas were on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, where the increase in high-tide flooding has been "extraordinary," according to the report, <a href="https://tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/publications/Techrpt_092_2019_State_of_US_High_Tide_Flooding_with_a_2020_Outlook_30June2020.pdf" target="_blank"><em>2019 State of High-Tide Flooding and 2020 Outlook</em></a>.</p>
<p>The number of days with high-tide flooding set or tied records in 19 places around the country last year, including Corpus Christi, Texas, which recorded 18 days of flooding; Galveston, Texas (18 days); Annapolis, Maryland (18 days); and Charleston, South Carolina (13 days), as <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/climate/coastal-flooding-noaa.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a> reported. The place with the greatest number of recorded flood days was Eagle Point, Texas, in Galveston Bay; it dealt with high-tide flooding on 64 days, or about one out of every five days.</p><p>Those numbers represent huge jumps in a short period of time, the report found. In 2000, Corpus Christi had just three days of tidal flooding; Charleston had two. The report notes that Charleston recorded just 13 days of high-tide flooding in the more than 50 years that measurements were first kept — the exact amount that occurred in 2019 alone, according to The New York Times.</p>
<p>The Southeast, on average, has seen a three-fold increase in flooding since 2000, according to NOAA.</p><p>The Northeast will not be spared. NOAA predicts that from May 2020 to April 2021, the national high tide flood frequency is expected to accelerate, with U.S. coastal communities seeing an average of 2 to 6 days of flooding in the coming year. Communities along the northeast and western Gulf coasts are projected to see even more days of flooding, according to the report.</p><p>"America's coastal communities and their economies are suffering from the effects of high tide flooding, and it's only going to increase in the future," said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA's National Ocean Service, in a <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/us-high-tide-flooding-continues-to-increase" target="_blank">statement</a>. "NOAA is committed to working with coastal communities to provide the information and data they need to tackle the problem of high tide flooding, both now and in the coming years as sea levels continue to rise."</p>
<p><a href="https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nuisance-flooding.html" target="_blank">High-tide flooding</a> occurs when tides reach anywhere from 1.75 to 2 feet above the daily average high tide and start spilling onto streets or coming up from storm drains, according to NOAA. As sea level rise accelerates, damaging floods that used to happen only during severe storms now happen much more regularly, such as during a full-moon tide or with a change in prevailing winds or currents.</p><p>By 2030, NOAA projected, the frequency of high-tide flooding could double or triple, according to The New York Times. By 2050, that number could be five to 15 times as great, with the typical coastal community flooding between 25 and 75 days a year, NOAA said, as The New York Times reported.</p><p>"You see where this is going," LeBoeuf said. "We all need to pay attention."</p>
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Trending
A new tool called The Food Systems Dashboard aims to save decision makers time and energy by painting a complete picture of a country's food system. Photo courtesy of Dr. Jessica Fanzo and Dr. Rebecca McLaren
By Katie Howell
A new tool called The Food Systems Dashboard aims to save decision makers time and energy by painting a complete picture of a country's food system. Created by the Johns Hopkins' Alliance for a Healthier World, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the Dashboard compiles food systems data from over 35 sources and offers it as a public good.
<p>"Trying to fix a food system without data is like trying to fix a car engine without any light in the garage," says Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of GAIN and one of the contributing partners behind the Dashboard.</p><p>The new Food Systems Dashboard enables government officials, policy makers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and others to see what is working in their food systems and what isn't.</p><p>The Dashboard has three main objectives — describe, diagnose, and decide. It presents data to describe a country's food system, help decision makers diagnose the problem areas in their systems, and suggest policies, programs, and interventions to address identified issues.</p>
<p>Pulling data on over 180 indicators, the Dashboard presents more than 230 countries' food systems. These indicators, which range from agriculture production factors to diet-related disease rates, are broken down into five broad categories: food supply chains, food environments, individual factors, consumer behavior, and outcomes. Of these indicators, the team also selected 41 measures they deem critical to describe a food system.</p><p>"We hope that the Dashboard not only draws attention to the importance of food systems in shaping development priorities, but that it also can be used as a data-driven problem solving tool for more difficult food system challenges that countries may face," Dr. Jessica Fanzo of Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Rebecca McLaren, global coordinator for the Dashboard, tell Food Tank.</p><p>The layout for each country's page presents information in simple, visual ways so that users are able to quickly understand and take away key messages. Users can then compare their food systems with those of other countries, either by region, income classification, or a food system typology.</p>
<p>The tool also highlights issues like consumer behavior, that require more research to generate usable data. Fanzo and partners hope the Dashboard will simultaneously serve as a tool for data advocacy and lead to more comprehensive global data collection.</p><p>In the future, the Dashboard will continue to develop as the team works to further identify specific challenges countries face, Fanzo and McLaren tell Food Tank. It will also increase focus on recommended policies, programs, investments, and other interventions targeted to those specific challenges, Fanzo and McLaren tell Food Tank.</p><p>"The Dashboard is open to all and will foster much needed cooperation in transforming our food systems," says FAO Director-General, QU Dongyu, "With the threats and opportunities presented by COVID-19, we need more collaboration between stakeholders who care about hunger, nutrition, livelihoods, climate, biodiversity, and sustainable natural resource use."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from<a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/new-tool-enables-decision-makers-to-see-what-works-in-their-food-systems/" target="_blank"> Food Tank</a>.</em></p>
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