Exterior of Cold Tube demonstration pavilion. Lea Ruefenacht
By Gloria Oladipo
In the face of dangerous heat waves this summer, Americans have taken shelter in air conditioned cooling centers. Normally, that would be a wise choice, but during a pandemic, indoor shelters present new risks. The same air conditioning systems that keep us cool recirculate air around us, potentially spreading the coronavirus.
<p>"Air conditioners look like they're bringing in air from the outside because they go through the window, but it is 100 percent recirculated air," said Forrest Meggers, an assistant professor of architecture at Princeton University. "If you had a system that could cool without being focused solely on cooling air, then you could actually open your windows."</p><p>Meggers and an international team of researchers have developed a safer way for people to beat the heat — a highly efficient cooling system that doesn't move air around.</p><p>Scientists lined door-sized panels with tiny tubes that circulate cold water. Stand next to a panel, and you can feel it drawing heat away from your body. Unlike air conditioners, these panels can be used with the window open — or even outdoors — making it possible to cool off while also getting some fresh air. This reduces the risk of spreading airborne viruses, like the coronavirus.</p>
<p>"If you look at what the health authorities and governments are saying, the safest place to be during this pandemic is outside," said Adam Rysanek, an assistant professor of environmental systems at the University of British Columbia, who was part of the research effort. "We're trying to find a way to keep you cool in a heat wave with the windows wide open, because the air is fresh. It's just that it's hot."</p><p>Cooling panels have been around for a while, but in limited use, because scientists haven't found a good way to deal with condensation. Like a cold can of Coke on a hot summer day, cooling panels collect drops of water, so they have to be paired with dehumidifiers indoors to stay dry. Otherwise, overhead panels might drip water on people standing underneath.</p><p>Meggers and his colleagues got around this problem by developing a thin, transparent membrane that repels condensation. This is the key breakthrough behind their cooling technology. Because it stays dry, it can be used in humid conditions, even outdoors.</p>
<p>In air conditioners, a dehumidifier dries out the air to prevent condensation. This component uses an enormous amount of energy, around half of the total power consumed by the air conditioner, researchers said. The new membrane they developed eliminates condensation with no energy cost, making the cooling panels significantly more efficient than a typical AC unit.</p><p>The research team involved scientists from the University of British Columbia, Princeton, UC Berkeley and the Singapore-ETH Centre. They published their <a href="https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2020/08/17/2001678117" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">findings</a> in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em>.</p><p>"This study demonstrates that we can maintain comfortable conditions for people without cooling all the air around them," said Zoltan Nagy, an assistant professor of civil engineering at the University of Texas, who was not affiliated with the study. "Probably the most significant demonstration of this study is that humans can be provided with comfort in a very challenging thermal environment using a very efficient method."</p>
<p>Researchers developed their technology for use in the persistently hot, muggy climate of Singapore, where avoiding condensation would be particularly difficult.</p><p>To test their design, they assembled a set of cooling panels into a small tunnel, roughly the size of a school bus. The tunnel, dubbed the "Cold Tube," sat in a plaza in the United World College of South East Asia in Singapore. Scientists surveyed dozens of people about how they felt after walking through the tunnel. Even as the temperature neared 90 degrees F outside, most participants reported feeling comfortable in the Cold Tube.</p>Scientists said they want to make their technology available to consumers as quickly as possible, for use in homes and offices, or outdoors. Climate change is producing <a href="https://time.com/5627355/climate-change-heat-waves/" target="_blank">more severe heat</a>, which is <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/29/the-air-conditioning-trap-how-cold-air-is-heating-the-world" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">driving demand</a> for air conditioners. Researchers hope their cooling panel will offer a more energy-efficient alternative to AC units. If consumers can use less power, that will help cut down on the pollution that is driving climate change.
<p>Before they can sell the panels, researchers said they need to make them hardy enough to survive outdoors. The anti-condensation membrane is currently so thin that you could tear it with a pencil, so it must be made stronger. Scientists also need to demonstrate that the panels work efficiently indoors. Hospitals and schools in Singapore have already shown interest in the cooling system.</p><p>"We know the physics works. Now we need to do one more test so we have a bit more of a commercially viable product," Rysanek said. "It's really about trying to get this into people's hands as quickly as possible."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/new-cooling-technology-protects-against-severe-heat-and-viral-spread-1e5b96ae793a" target="_blank">Nexus Media.</a></em></p>
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Few U.S. Students Repeat a Grade but That Could Change Due to COVID-19
19 September
Health + Wellness
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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USDA and Meatpacking Industry Collaborated to Undermine COVID-19 Response, Documents Show
17 September
Politics
The USDA and the meatpacking industry worked together to downplay and disregard risks to worker health during the COVID-19 pandemic. RGtimeline / Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the meatpacking industry worked together to downplay and disregard risks to worker health during the Covid-19 pandemic, as shown in documents published Monday by Public Citizen and American Oversight.
<p>The <a href="https://www.citizen.org/wp-content/uploads/2020-OSEC-04055-F_2nd-Interim_Item-1_Redacted.pdf?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f7bf3f03-ce98-4df4-9c45-f44d9a6a5890" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">documents</a>, which the groups obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests, reveal that a week before President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/28/catastrophic-harm-feared-trump-uses-emergency-powers-keep-meat-packing-plants-open" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">issued his controversial executive order </a>in April to keep meatpacking plants open—overriding closure orders from local health officials—a leading meat industry lobby group drafted a proposed executive order that was strikingly similar to Trump's directive.</p><p>North American Meat Institute president Julie Anna Potts drafted the document, which invoked the Korean War-era Defense Production Act in proposing a presidential proclamation that orders "critical infrastructure food companies continue their operations to the fullest extent possible."</p><p>The documents also show that the North American Meat Institute repeatedly requested that USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue discourage workers who were afraid to return to work from staying home, that meatpacking plants asked the USDA to intervene on multiple occasions when state and local governments either shut them down over health and safety concerns or sought to impose worker health and safety standards, and that pork producer and food processing giant Smithfield Foods repeatedly requested that the USDA "order" it to reopen its meat processing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota—even though the agency lacks the legal authority for such a move.</p>
<div id="13077" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="11b9fe5ff48ebc437353df6df9c2c892"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1305915938148147205" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Just a week before the Trump administration issued an executive order aimed at keeping meat packing plants open, th… https://t.co/DkbXgPm4YR</div> — ProPublica (@ProPublica)<a href="https://twitter.com/propublica/statuses/1305915938148147205">1600189597.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"While we knew that the meatpacking industry was lobbying the Trump administration to take steps to protect its profits regardless of the cost to workers' lives, the degree of collaboration these documents show is astounding," <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/usda-meatpacking-industry-collaborated-to-undermine-covid-19-response-foia-docs-show/" target="_blank">said</a> Adam Pulver, attorney for Public Citizen.</p><p>"As outbreaks continue to emerge in meatpacking plants, it is stunning to see the cavalier attitude officials took to the health and safety of workers in the early part of the pandemic," Pulver added. "To the extent that the USDA impeded the efforts of state and local governments to contain the virus, the blood of meatpacking workers is on their hands."</p><p>According to July <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6927e2.htm" target="_blank">data</a> from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 23 states reported Covid-19 outbreaks in meat and poultry processing facilities, with 16,233 cases and 86 deaths reported in 239 facilities. Fully 87% of those cases occurred among racial or ethnic minorities. The problem is global, with other countries from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/53137613" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Britain</a> to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-jbs-specialreport/special-report-how-covid-19-swept-the-brazilian-slaughterhouses-of-jbs-worlds-top-meatpacker-idUSKBN25Z1HZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Brazil</a> reporting widespread Covid-19 infection among their meatpackers.</p><p>A common theme connects all of these outbreaks around the world, critics said Tuesday—the prioritization of profit over people.</p>
<p>"During a global pandemic, Americans should be able to trust that public health experts are drafting public health standards, not big businesses looking out for their bottom lines," <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/usda-meatpacking-industry-collaborated-to-undermine-covid-19-response-foia-docs-show/" target="_blank">said</a> Austin Evers, executive director at American Oversight. "This is corruption that came at the cost of lives and safety. Making matters worse, we know now that Trump knew the coronavirus was a deadly threat even while he played it down and took steps he knew were at odds with what experts advised."</p><p>The poultry industry, already the target of a <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2019-09-03/u-s-chicken-industry-accused-of-conspiring-to-keep-immigrant-wages-down" target="_blank">massive class-action lawsuit</a> alleging some of the biggest animal agriculture corporations in the nation conspired to suppress worker wages and benefits, has been roiled by accusations of worker mistreatment during the pandemic. </p><p>"For us employees that work in production, we are treated like modern-day slaves," Tara Williams, an employee at a Tyson Foods poultry plant in Camilla, Georgia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/02/meat-plant-workers-us-coronavirus-war" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">told</a> <em>The Guardian </em>in May.</p><p>"Excuse my language, but Tyson really aren't going to give a f**k about us at all," Williams—who has worked at the plant for five years and currently earns $13.55 an hour—said of the $22 billion company after her colleague Elose Willis, who worked at the plant for 35 years, <a href="https://www.loftonfuneralhome.com/obituary/Elose-Willis" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">died</a> of Covid-19 in April. </p><p>"It was like they were keeping a secret," Williams said of Willis' death. "It took them about two weeks just to put a picture up, to acknowledge that she had died." </p><p>In related news, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/10/want-know-what-workers-life-worth-america-trumps-osha-fines-meat-company-just-13494" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">fined</a> Smithfield's Sioux Falls plant just $13,494 last Thursday for failing to take adequate steps to contain the virus, leading to the infection of more than 1,200 plant employees and the deaths of four plant workers between March and June. Critics said the fine isn't nearly enough.</p>
<div id="36e4c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e7c8048c2755109629a3b3072fcb3261"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304424041814593539" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Meatpacking union @UFCW, which reps workers at this plant (four of whom died), slams OSHA for the small $13k fine a… https://t.co/tnhfKd89ab</div> — Dave Jamieson (@Dave Jamieson)<a href="https://twitter.com/jamieson/statuses/1304424041814593539">1599833901.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) International Union, which represents Smithfield Foods workers, <a href="https://www.argusleader.com/story/news/crime/2020/09/10/osha-fines-smithfield-foods-sioux-falls-south-dakota/5768786002/?eType=EmailBlastContent&eId=f7bf3f03-ce98-4df4-9c45-f44d9a6a5890" target="_blank">slammed</a> the fine as "insulting and a slap on the wrist."</p><p>"How much is the health, safety, and life of an essential worker worth? Based on the actions of the Trump administration, clearly not much," said UFCW president Marc Perrone.</p><p>"This so-called 'fine' is a slap on the wrist for Smithfield, and a slap in the face of the thousands of American meatpacking workers who have been putting their lives on the line to help feed America since the beginning of this pandemic," Perrone added. </p><p>Other critics, including vegans, vegetarians, and animal rights and environmental advocates argued that the accelerated spread of Covid-19 from meatpacking facilities is but the latest compelling argument in favor of reducing—or eliminating—meat consumption.</p><p>"We know that Covid-19 originated in a meat market and that previous influenza viruses originated in pigs and chickens," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) <a href="https://www.peta.org/blog/meat-shortage-slaugherhouses-go-vegan/" target="_blank">said</a> in April amid news that a Foster Farms slaughterhouse in Livingston, California was <a href="https://www.peta.org/blog/coronavirus-covid-19-slaughterhouse-meat-concerns/?utm_source=PETA::Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=0420::veg::PETA::Twitter::Workers%20Blame%20Major%20Pig%20Slaughterhouse%20600%20Infected%20COVID-19::::tweet" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ordered closed</a> by local health authorities due to a Covid-19 outbreak that killed eight employees.</p>
<div id="28490" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="48ddd3480a2beb42597d9516ef652f0f"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1252416495990140929" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! @SmithfieldFoods allegedly took NO PRECAUTIONS to protect the safety of its workers, leaving o… https://t.co/viAJ026pLy</div> — PETA (@PETA)<a href="https://twitter.com/peta/statuses/1252416495990140929">1587434336.0</a></blockquote></div><p>"It's not a matter of <em>whether</em> using and killing animals for food will give rise to another disease outbreak—it's a matter of <em>when</em>," said PETA. "There has never been a better, more obvious time for businesses to put an end to their dirty trade of slaughtering animals for their flesh." </p>
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OPEC remains only a pale shadow of its past glory. Pxfuel
By Ashutosh Pandey
In 1973, a handful of oil-rich countries, led by Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq, brought the mighty U.S. economy to its knees by slapping an oil embargo on Washington and its allies. The suspension of oil shipments from the Middle East to the U.S. and steep production cuts in retaliation for the Americans' support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War wreaked havoc on the U.S. economy, leading to fuel shortages and causing oil prices to go through the roof.
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<p><em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/opec-saudi-arabia-russia-united-states-peak-oil-covid-19/a-54875289?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2647641514#/" target="_self"></a></p>
<p>The ban was lifted within months following hectic negotiations, but not before it pushed the U.S. economy into its worst recession since World War II. The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), which until then had maintained a relatively low profile, mainly negotiating higher oil prices from major oil companies for its members, had emerged as a force to reckon with.</p><p>Nearly five decades later, OPEC remains only a pale shadow of its past glory, weakened by infighting within its ranks, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/us-shale-oil-forecasts-too-optimistic-even-iea-agrees/a-46296507" target="_blank">the rise of the United States as a major oil exporter</a> thanks to a shale boom, and a global push for renewable sources of energy amid climate change worries. </p><p>"OPEC is significant primarily as a political club. It fails economically as a cartel, but it does boost the prestige and standing of its members, most of whom would not otherwise have a seat at the table in world affairs," said Jeff Colgan, a professor at Brown University who authored the book <em>Petro-Aggression: When Oil Causes War.</em> "A functional cartel needs to set tough limits to production and stick to them. OPEC sets easy targets and still often fails to meet them," he told DW.</p><p>The bloc has seen its market share progressively diminish over the years, in part thanks to its efforts to artificially boost oil prices by holding back its own production. OPEC's share of the global oil market has fallen to around 30% from above 50% in 1973. It has also been hurt by involuntary losses in war-torn Libya and the fallout from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/iran-tankers-come-to-the-rescue-of-oil-starved-venezuela/a-53586364" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. sanctions in both Iran and Venezuela</a>. </p><p>It was OPEC's weakness amid the rise of the U.S. as a major oil producer that prompted the once exclusive club to join hands with <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-oil-shock-tests-saudi-arabia-russia-coalition/a-52292320" target="_blank">Russia and some other oil producers to form OPEC+ and attempt to balance the oil markets.</a> The alliance's inception in 2016 was preceded by a disastrous campaign by the Saudi-led bloc to force weaker U.S. shale players out of business, which caused oil prices to collapse to around $30 a barrel. U.S. shale players then proved to be more resilient than the Saudis had expected — strong enough to push the U.S. to become the world's biggest oil producer. </p>
Peak Oil Debate Heats Up Amid COVID-19 Crisis
<p>The bloc's waning influence has coincided with oil's fall from grace. The fossil fuel has seen its share in the global energy mix diminish to about 33% from a peak of 50% in 1973, according to estimates by BP, as governments and companies shift to cleaner energy sources to combat climate change. By contrast, renewables, mostly from solar and wind, have seen their share rise, accounting for over 40% of global energy growth last year, according to BP's data.</p><p>"Oil isn't as significant or visible as it used to be. For example, do you know who the head of Exxon is? Probably not. Do you know who the head of Tesla is? Yes, Elon Musk," said Philippe Benoit, from consultancy Global Infrastructure Advisory Services 2050. </p><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has further dimmed oil's prospects. Global lockdowns brought cars, planes and trains to a screeching halt, causing oil consumption to drop by a quarter and <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oil-prices-collapse-with-biggest-drop-since-1991-gulf-war/a-52687503" target="_blank">oil prices to crash to multiyear lows,</a> even trading below $0 a barrel in the US at one point. Transportation accounts for close to a third of the global oil demand. </p><p>Experts don't see the automobile and aviation sectors returning to their pre-pandemic levels for the next 3-5 years at least. The airline industry was touted to be the biggest growth engine for oil, riding on demand from people getting richer, but that now looks unlikely, especially over the next few years. </p><p>Oil industry leaders, including BP's chief executive, Bernard Looney, and Royal Dutch Shell's boss Ben van Beurden, have said the current crisis may cause the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/when-will-peak-oil-hit-global-energy-markets/a-51367939" target="_blank">oil demand to peak sooner than expected.</a></p><p>"The backdrop of declining demand means that the Kingdom [of Saudi Arabia] and its Gulf allies would find it increasingly difficult to manipulate supply and boost prices for any length of time," Jason Tuvey, of Capital Economics, wrote in a note to clients. "If prices are kept artificially high for an extended period, oil demand will end up declining at an even faster pace and the nimbleness of U.S. shale production means that non-OPEC supply will expand." </p>'OPEC Is a Saudi Mouthpiece'
<p>OPEC was founded in Baghdad in September 1960 by Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. The bloc, which has expanded and contracted over the years, has been plagued by squabbles over strategy and regional power struggles, which have occasionally turned into full-blown conflicts like the Iran-Iraq war and Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. </p><p>Saudi Arabia, which produces a third of OPEC's oil, has remained the de facto leader of the bloc since the 1990s, when conflicts, corruption and poor management wrecked production in other member countries, including regional rivals Iran and Iraq. </p><p>Riyadh has oscillated between propping up crude oil prices and shielding its market share, often unilaterally. "OPEC is a Saudi mouthpiece," Colgan said. In March, when OPEC+ negotiations to cut output in response to the pandemic collapsed, Saudi Arabia launched a price war against Russia — much to the dismay of <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/oil-price-war-saudi-arabia-russia-us-nigeria-angola/a-52718595" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">weaker OPEC members such as Nigeria and Angola,</a> already bleeding due to low oil prices caused by Riyadh's 2015-16 misadventure. </p><p>Despite all its sway, Saudi Arabia has struggled to rein in the <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/will-coronavirus-oil-shock-rein-in-opec-cheaters/a-53277101" target="_blank">bloc's so-called cheaters, including Nigeria and Iraq,</a> which have been notorious for failing to comply with pledged output cuts aimed at propping up oil prices. Riyadh, which is more vulnerable to low oil prices than other major oil producers with its break-even oil price exceeding $80 a barrel, has ended up doing much of the heavy lifting to ensure overall compliance.</p><p>Tuvey of Capital Economics says in the medium-term Saudi Arabia will scale back its efforts to prop up oil prices and revert to the strategy of shielding its market share at any cost to avoid leaving substantial quantities of oil stranded amid falling demand. </p><p><span></span>"Such a shift in policy, particularly if it were sudden and unexpected, would put some downward pressure on oil prices. But this is unlikely to be too troubling for the kingdom, and the government has proven its willingness to impose harsh fiscal austerity," Tuvey said. "Saudi policymakers won't have much sympathy for other producers that fail to adjust their economies to low oil prices."</p>Bigger Role for OPEC?
<p>Yet it may be too early to write an obituary for the bloc, <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/saudi-arabia-considering-breaking-up-opec-report/a-46226353" target="_blank">which has survived many crises in the past 60 years,</a> eliciting comparisons to the proverbial cat with nine lives. Oil is likely to remain the world's most important commodity for years to come.</p><p>"Paradoxically, OPEC as an aggregator, a point of meeting for many producing nations, could potentially play a bigger role in managing the tensions of a contracting market among those oil producers," Benoit said. </p>
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Dr. Anthony Fauci says that it may not be safe to attend movie theaters or indoor events until a year after the U.S. has a safe, effective vaccine. Pxfuel
By Jessica Corbett
As the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the United States surpassed 6.43 million and the nation's death toll topped 192,600, the federal government's top infectious disease expert warned Friday that life likely won't return to normal until sometime—perhaps late—in 2021.
<p>During a televised interview, <em>MSNBC</em>'s Andrea Mitchell asked Dr. Anthony Fauci, the longtime director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about his comments earlier this week that it may not be safe to attend movie theaters or indoor events until a year after the U.S. has a safe, effective vaccine.</p><p>Fauci said that he remains confident the U.S. could have a vaccine for Covid-19 by the end of this year or early next year, "but by the time you mobilize the distribution of the vaccinations and you get the majority or more of the population vaccinated and protected, that's likely not gonna happen till the mid or end of 2021."</p><p>"If you're talking about getting back to a degree of normality which resembles where we were prior to Covid, it's gonna be well into 2021, maybe even towards the end of 2021," Fauci added, referencing the local and state level lockdowns and social distancing practices that have been implemented throughout this year.</p>
<div id="38899" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c876b6251b5bd2514394cc7fcffb6486"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304450398883807232" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Live now on @MSNBC: @mitchellreports interviews Dr. Fauci.
https://t.co/MPjgQRmzjX https://t.co/qrS4zxbvqZ</div> — MSNBC (@MSNBC)<a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBC/statuses/1304450398883807232">1599840185.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>A White House adviser, Fauci also disagreed with President Donald Trump's <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-press-briefing-091020/" target="_blank">claim</a> during a Thursday press briefing that the United States has "rounded the final turn" in the pandemic. Looking at the statistics, "they're disturbing," Fauci told Mitchell. "We're plateauing at around 40,000 cases a day and the deaths are around 1,000."</p><p>The expert expressed hope that the U.S. won't see a post-Labor Day Weekend surge in cases like what occurred after July 4 and Memorial Day, and stressed the importance of driving down infection numbers heading into the fall and winter months.</p><p>"What we don't want to see is going into the fall season, when people will be spending more time indoors—and that's not good for a respiratory borne virus—you don't want to start off already with a baseline that's so high," he said.</p>
<p>Fauci also <a href="https://twitter.com/MSNBCPR/status/1304458897353211904" target="_blank">denied</a> that he has been influenced by the <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/09/emails-show-how-trump-official-hhs-tried-get-fauci-downplay-covid-19-threat-school" target="_blank">reported</a> efforts of a Trump-allied official within the Department of Health and Human Services to muzzle him or otherwise guide what the expert says publicly about the pandemic.</p><p>Regarding AstraZeneca's <a href="https://www.statnews.com//09/08/astrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine-study-put-on-hold-due-to-suspected-adverse-reaction-in-participant-in-the-u-k/" target="_blank">decision</a> earlier this week to halt human trials for a potential vaccine after a participant in the U.K. showed signs of a suspected adverse reaction, Fauci said the development was unfortunate but should also reassure the public that safety concerns are being taken seriously.</p><p>The trial delay came as AstraZeneca joined eight other pharmaceutical companies in pledging to "stand with science" amid alarm that Trump may pressure the industry and the Food and Drug Administration to approve a vaccine ahead of the general election. As <em>Common Dreams</em> <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/08/what-it-has-come-amid-fears-politicization-fda-big-pharma-pledge-stand-science-met" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reported</a> Tuesday, public health experts responded to Big Pharma's promise with cautious optimism.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/11/fauci-warns-pre-pandemic-normalcy-not-likely-until-well-or-towards-end-2021?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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MilkRun, a Portland, Oregon-based company, is supporting small, local farmers by enabling them to sell produce safely and directly to consumers' homes. Pikist
By Sean Taylor
MilkRun, a Portland, Oregon-based company, is supporting small, local farmers by enabling them to sell produce safely and directly to consumers' homes.
<p>Founded by farmer and entrepreneur Julia Niiro, MilkRun is an online platform that lets farmers set their own prices, cutting out wholesalers, shippers, and truckers. Once consumers place an order through MilkRun, farmers deliver produce to an aggregation hub, which MilkRun then boxes and ships to consumers' doorsteps.</p><p>On average, farmers receive <a href="https://www.fb.org/newsroom/fast-facts" target="_blank">eight percent</a> of the purchase price from grocery stores according to The American Farm Bureau Federation. But MilkRun estimates a return of up to 70 percent of the purchase price through their platform.</p><p>The platform is also trying to provide data on consumer purchasing patterns, purchase quantities, and food mileage, information that is often difficult for small farmers to obtain.</p>
<p>"Ninety percent of our nation's farms right now don't have even simple tools…they are having to recreate every data point… how can we help them do their jobs better?" Niiro tells Food Tank.</p><p>Niiro believes that the future of farming is bright, and she hopes to help farmers achieve success. "For young farmers, they need to know there's hope…you should be able to make a living and realize your dreams," Niiro tells Food Tank. "Who are we going to leave our food system to if not them?"</p><p>Niiro says that COVID-19 is also having unexpected benefits for both MilkRun and farmers. "COVID has put farmers back in business," Niiro tells Food Tank. She explains that while wholesale orders from restaurants have decreased dramatically, direct purchasing from consumers is offsetting the loss.</p>
<p>According to Niiro, farmers are re-scaling, creating new safety practices, and adapting to direct consumer demands. She says these changes are enabling farmers to turn a profit during the pandemic.</p><p>"I've never been more proud to be someone who's in this work and serving people," Niiro says. "The pride that comes with serving people and giving them an incredible experience makes us essential."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from<a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/09/an-online-platform-is-enabling-farmers-to-deliver-straight-to-consumers/" target="_blank"> Food Tank</a>.</em></p>
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A new report reveals President Donald Trump has rolled back at least 30 public protections since declaring a public health emergency over the coronavirus pandemic. Gage Skidmore / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Brett Wilkins
In the nearly six months since President Donald Trump declared a public health emergency over the coronavirus pandemic, he has rolled back at least 30 public protections, while proposing changes to at least 20 others, according to a report published Thursday by Public Citizen's Coalition on Sensible Safeguards.
The report—Pandemic Rollbacks: Slashing Safeguards During the Coronavirus—tracks dozens of regulatory rollbacks enacted or proposed by the Trump administration since March.
<div id="4dd61" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fbdc0a617c3c5d28cd82b3c2021679d0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1304042392274771969" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">SCOOP: Six months after his emergency declaration, Trump has repealed more than 30 public protections that have not… https://t.co/19r1AuV5Pp</div> — Sensible Safeguards (@Sensible Safeguards)<a href="https://twitter.com/goodregs/statuses/1304042392274771969">1599742908.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Noting that Trump "has directed agencies to press forward with his dangerous, unpopular, and corrupt deregulatory agenda as if it's business as usual," the report accuses the president of appearing "eager to take advantage of the crisis and ram through deregulatory policies while the rest of the country is distracted."</p><p>The rollbacks are spread widely across numerous federal agencies, with many occuring at the besieged Environmental Protection Agency. Here is a sampling of some of the administration's more egregious actions:</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/08/13/trump-epa-plows-ahead-mind-bogglingly-stupid-and-destructive-rollback-methane" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Weakening EPA rules</a> on methane emissions. </li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/26/big-banks-couldnt-be-happier-stocks-surge-trump-regulators-gut-restrictions-risky" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Relaxing the Volcker Rule</a>, which was enacted in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to prevent banks from acting like hedge funds. </li><li><a href="https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a33811194/bomb-train-natural-gas-transportation-trump-rule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Reducing regulations on trains</a> transporting extremely flammable materials. </li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/04/17/pandemic-rages-trump-cfpb-plows-ahead-rules-empowering-predatory-lenders-rip" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Loosening restrictions</a> on predatory payday lending companies. </li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/13/deadly-trump-hhs-scraps-protections-transgender-patients-and-those-seeking-abortions" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Revoking</a> Health and Human Services Department nondiscrimination protections for transgender people and people seeking abortions. </li><li><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/26/dark-money-tax-283044" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Easing rules</a> on dark money disclosure by groups including the National Rifle Association and AARP. </li><li><a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/02/targeted-strike-against-environmental-and-racial-justice-trump-epa-curbs-state-power" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Limiting states' power</a> to reject fossil fuel projects.</li><li><a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/6/12/21288063/trump-immigration-asylum-border-regulation" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Eviscerating protections</a> for asylum-seekers. </li></ul>
<p>Among the administration's proposed rollbacks are: <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/trump-administration-moves-repeal-transgender-protections-homeless-shelters-n1232849" target="_blank">revoking protections</a> for unhoused transgender people, <a href="https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/trump-administration-proposes-new-limits-protecting-endangered-species-habitat-2020-07-31/" target="_blank">redefining</a> critical wildlife habitats, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/04/climate/trump-environment-coronavirus.html" target="_blank">revising</a> the Clean Air Act, <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/15/steamrolling-rights-people-and-planet-trump-finalizes-rule-weakening-bedrock" target="_blank">weakening</a> pipeline safety rules, and <a href="https://oceanconservancy.org/blog/2020/06/12/proposal-threatens-weaken-2016-arctic-drilling-rule/" target="_blank">removing barriers</a> on oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Sea.</p><p>"Instead of using their regulatory and enforcement powers to implement a national pandemic response, Trump officials have sabotaged or obliterated essential health, safety, environmental, anti-discrimination, and financial safeguards for the American public," <a href="https://www.citizen.org/news/six-months-after-emergency-declared-trump-has-repealed-more-than-30-public-protections/" target="_blank">said</a> Matt Kent, a regulatory policy associate for Public Citizen, in a statement. </p><p>"Nearly 200,000 Americans are dead and more than 6 million have been infected with Covid-19 because of the administration's disastrous response, but Trump's priority is showering giant corporations with deregulatory special favors," Kent added. "It's an appalling betrayal of the American people."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/09/10/appalling-betrayal-new-report-details-dozens-trump-rollbacks-perpetrated-under-cover?cd-origin=rss" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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New Online Platform Shows How to Protect Biodiversity and Avoid Ecological Collapse
08 September
Climate
A new online platform shows where exactly conservation action should be prioritized. ANDREYGUDKOV / Getty Images
By Morgan Erickson-Davis
As the world heads towards 2021 with COVID-19 still raging overhead, it might be easy to forget about the other global crises. But a new app, debuted today, aims to light the way to a brighter future, showing how we can stop global warming, halt extinctions and prevent pandemics – all in one fell swoop.
<p><a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Research shows</a> that global warming above 1.5 degrees Celsius will likely result in the collapse of ecosystems around the world. Scientists say that not only would this result in mass extinctions, but it would also have dire consequences for humans in terms of food and water security, community resilience against environmental disasters, public health and other societal needs that are intrinsically tied to a healthy environment.</p><p>But, according to the numbers, we're running out of time to do this. Studies indicate that in order to achieve a good likelihood of staying below the 1.5-degree threshold, the majority of the world's greenhouse gas emissions need to be avoided. Deforestation is one of the biggest emitters of excess CO2 and reducing it is one of the key components to international strategies aimed at mitigating global warming. However, researchers say that if deforestation and other industry emissions continue at current rates, we'll be on track to reach the 1.5-degree threshold by 2030.</p><p>In other words, we have less than 10 years to turn things around.</p><p>To this end, a team a team of researchers led by Eric Dinerstein, a wildlife scientist and director at the conservation organization RESOLVE, has created the first comprehensive estimate of the total land area that needs to be protected in order to fix both biodiversity loss and climate change. Called the "Global Safety Net," the effort combines data on protected areas, intact landscapes, biodiversity importance, and carbon absorption and storage, to show where exactly conservation action should be prioritized. It is visualized on an <a href="https://www.globalsafetynet.app/" target="_blank">open-access online platform</a>.</p>
‘Conserve at Least Half and in the Right Places’
<p>The Global Safety Net combines six primary data layers: existing protected areas, habitats where rare species live, areas of high biodiversity, landscapes inhabited by large mammals, large areas of intact wilderness and natural landscapes that can absorb and store the most carbon.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzc5NTczMC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxMzE4OTI5Mn0.h_clcf6OzZN712SwPBUKFvsV9s7FiGsUDUd4uWhukp4/img.png?width=980" id="d9e69" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f489045cac457a4011270a29e89c672f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Areas of the terrestrial realm where increased conservation action is needed to protect biodiversity and store carbon. Numbers in parentheses show the percentage of total land area of Earth contributed by each set of layers. Unprotected habitats drawn from the 11 biodiversity data layers underpinning the Global Safety Net augment the current 15.1% protected with an additional 30.6% required to safeguard biodiversity. Additional CSAs add a further 4.7% of the terrestrial realm. Also shown are the wildlife and climate corridors to connect intact habitats (yellow lines). Data are available for interactive viewing at www.globalsafetynet.app. Dinerstein et al., 2020.
<p>In a study accompanying the release of the platform published today in <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/36/eabb2824" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><em>Science Advances</em></a>, the researchers describe what we need to do in order to stave off the worst effects of global warming and extinction. Overall, they found that in addition to the 15.1% of the world's land that is already protected, 35.3% will need to be added to fold over the next 10 years. This means that ultimately 50% of the planet's land area will need to be protected from further degradation to keep it under the 1.5-degree threshold and stave off ecological collapse.</p><p>The researchers were surprised how well their numbers lined up with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Half-Earth" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">previous estimates</a> of how much of the planet needs to be set aside for nature.</p><p>"Without trying, the analysis landed on 50.4% of the terrestrial surface requiring protection," said study coauthor Karl Burkart, managing director of the NGO One Earth. "Of course conservation is much more nuanced now and strictly protected areas are just one type of land designation that can contribute towards this goal."</p><p>Zooming in, the study finds 30% of land area is of "particular importance for biological diversity." An additional 20% of land area is needed to maintain ecosystem intactness and provide additional carbon storage and absorption. The authors also note that restoration of degraded areas could help meet carbon sequestration and wildlife conservation goals.</p><p>Dinerstein and his colleagues write that the Global Safety Net can be used as a roadmap to achieving climate and biodiversity targets.</p><p>"Staying below the 1.5°C limit will require much of the world's remaining habitat—and a significant amount of restored habitat in forest biomes—be put under some form of conservation by 2030," the authors say. "Advances being championed under the two conventions responsible for biodiversity and climate— the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change—must be accelerated if we are to protect the abundance and diversity of life on Earth and stabilize the climate.</p><p>"A holistic solution is emerging that will accelerate both efforts: conserve at least half and in the right places."</p><p>The researchers identified 50 different ecoregions – areas defined by their unique ecologies and geologies – and 20 countries that hold the lion's share of conservation potential.</p><p>Among them is the Sahelian Acacia Savanna, a vast grassland that stretches across the top of Africa from Senegal to Sudan, the <a href="https://rainforests.mongabay.com/new-guinea/" target="_blank">Central Range Papuan Montane Rainforests</a> shared between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, <a href="https://rainforests.mongabay.com/sulawesi/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Indonesia's Sulawesi Montane Rainforests</a>, Madagascar Humid Forests, and Mindanao-Eastern Visayas Rainforests in the Philippines. These areas occupy the top five spots in terms of the amount land that could protected in future, together totaling some 183,000 square kilometers (70,658 square miles) of protection potential and nearly 2% of the planet's land area.</p><p>The app also <a href="https://www.globalsafetynet.app/rankings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ranks countries</a> on how much of their biological important land areas are under official protection, which is broken down into three lists based on the size of the country. For "large" countries, Nigeria scored the top spot in terms of protection level, Brazil is #15, the U.S. is #34, Indonesia is #47, and Somalia was ranked lowest at #70.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzc5NTg2OS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjc2NTg1N30.3-DNDx178mq3RYVRgguTYZJqCNWc8giZNYoMom2S_2U/img.jpg?width=980" id="06d42" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5cd48628e90ca0835f1b8e3ddb2e9827" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Somalia has large areas inhabited by rare species – but very few protected areas. Global Safety Net
<p>It should be noted that these rankings do not take into consideration deforestation within protected areas. If so, countries like <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/05/takeover-of-nigerian-reserve-highlights-uphill-battle-to-save-forests/" target="_blank">Nigeria</a> and <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/brazilian-amazon-protected-areas-in-flames-as-land-grabbers-invade/" target="_blank">Brazil</a>, where protected areas are increasingly beset by illegal clearing, might not rank so high on the list. Still, the researchers say protected areas provide needed accountability and a metric with which to measure conservation effort.</p><p>"Protected Areas (or area-based targets) are certainly no guarantee of conservation outcome, as we can see with the fires burning in Brazil as we speak," Burkart told Mongabay via email. "But without them we are lost at sea."</p><p>Both Burkart and Dinerstein view area-based targets as the "North Star" of biodiversity preservation and climate protection, and say they are an important part of creating a framework for action that civil society can use to help motivate and mobilize conservation efforts.</p><p>"We've got to take conservation out of the ivory towers of academic institutions (or basements of government ministries)," Burkart said. "It is the public good we're talking about, so we need an open and transparent stocktaking of where we are right now, and what we need to immediately prioritize. Area-based targets are just the beginning, a 'blueprint' if you will of the cathedral we need to build."</p>Will It Happen in Time?
<p>If more than tripling the amount of land under official, effective protection in less than 10 years sounds daunting, you're not alone. But Dinerstein and his colleagues say it is possible.</p><p>One avenue they recommend is safeguarding Indigenous territories. The Global Safety Net shows important conservation areas often overlap with areas occupied by Indigenous communities or regarded as ancestral land, which previous research indicates contain around 80% of the planet's remaining biodiversity and contribute significantly to carbon storage. Putting land under the management of Indigenous and local communities has been shown to <a href="https://news.mongabay.com/2014/07/true-stewards-new-report-says-local-communities-key-to-saving-forests-curbing-global-warming/" target="_blank">be an effective way</a> to protect it.</p><p>"Addressing indigenous land claims, upholding existing land tenure rights, and resourcing programs on indigenous-managed lands could help achieve biodiversity objectives on as much as one-third of the area required by the Global Safety Net," the researchers write in their study. "Simultaneously, this focus would positively address social justice and human rights concerns."</p><p>Protecting such a large amount of land will take a lot of money. But researchers say that the COVID-19 pandemic is showing just how quickly countries can allocate large amounts of resources if needed. And since <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-020-02341-1" target="_blank">research shows</a> deforestation can increase the risk of outbreak of deadly diseases like Ebola and COVID-19, Dinerstein and his colleagues say there is added incentive for funding such efforts.</p><p>"The need for an ambitious global conservation agenda has taken on a new urgency in 2020 after the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus," they write in their study.</p><p>The researchers were surprised to find that only 2.3% of the planet's land area would needed to be further protected to safeguard the species most at risk of extinction. This, they say, could be accomplished within five years.</p><p>Overall, they say the investment spent on preserving these important areas of land would be offset by the trillions of dollars worth of benefits provided by a healthy environment.</p><p>"Literally billions of dollars are being spent trying to invent technologies to remove carbon from the atmosphere with very little to show for it. Meanwhile we can protect the spectacular diversity of life on this planet while simultaneously providing all the ecosystem services humanity needs by protecting and conserving the 50% of lands identified in the GSN," Burkart said. "Based on a new economic analysis, we estimate that the global safety net would cost about $200 [billion per year] to manage. This is a tiny investment for a massive return, as nature provides $33 trillion in ecosystem services every year."</p><p>For their part, Dinerstein, Burkart and their colleagues are continuing to improve the GSN, and are planning on releasing an updated version next year that will include more data layers and higher resolution. They are also developing technology to help monitor elephant populations in the hopes of reducing human-elephant conflict and prevent poaching, as well as a system that detects logging trucks before they get a chance to start cutting down trees.</p><p>"Protecting forests begins with early detection and then enforcement," Dinerstein said. "We think our ForestGuard AI is an important piece of this."</p><p>But the main thing, the researchers say, is that governments must act – and soon.</p><p>"Human societies are late in the game to rectify impending climate breakdown, massive biodiversity loss, and, now, prevent pandemics," they write. "The Global Safety Net, if erected promptly, offers a way for humanity to catch up and rebound."</p>From Your Site Articles
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54 Million People in the U.S. May Go Hungry During the Pandemic — Can Urban Farms Help?
07 September
Insights + Opinion
An example of urban farming is seen on this Chicago rooftop. Linda / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 2.0
By Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner
When I call Chef Q. Ibraheem to discuss urban farming in her own cooking career, she's in the middle of placing an order for microgreens from a small farm in Lake Forest, a ritzy suburb just north of downtown Chicago. Now's a great time for her to chat, actually, because the Chicago-based chef is immersed in what she loves, sourcing ingredients as locally as possible.
<p>"It's really important we know where our food is coming from," she says. "I know my farmers by name. I can go to the farms, see how they are growing everything, see it in the soil. It's always nice to have something within reach and know your produce." Chef Q runs supper clubs and chef camps throughout Chicagoland, sustaining the local economy by purchasing ingredients from urban gardens and farms within miles of her pop-up experiences.</p><p>"As a chef, you realize you have a responsibility to your guests," she says, and for her, that responsibility means being transparent about ingredients, and even educating diners about what's on their plates. Growing up spending summers on a farm in Georgia, Chef Q has an innate curiosity about where and how her food is grown, and she recognizes the importance of farms in both urban and rural areas.</p><p>Commercial urban agriculture is <a href="https://bedfordandbowery.com/2020/07/as-the-pandemic-continues-urban-gardening-is-growing-on-new-yorkers/" target="_blank">on the rise</a>, with small-scale farms in <a href="https://ny.curbed.com/maps/new-york-urban-gardening-city-farmers-brooklyn" target="_blank">New York City</a> like <a href="https://www.gothamgreens.com/" target="_blank">Gotham Greens</a>, which reduces the amount of energy, land use and food waste in tight, underutilized spaces to produce herbs and roughage for the masses. In Austin, Texas, <a href="https://austinot.com/urban-farms-austin" target="_blank">backyard farms and urban gardens</a> sell ingredients to restaurants and markets throughout the region, as do <a href="https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2019-10-10/avenue33-urban-farm-grows-in-los-angeles" target="_blank">similar projects in Los Angeles</a>. In fact, innovations allowing farmers to <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-farmers-are-learning-to-grow-food-without-soil-or-natural-light-88720" target="_blank">grow without soil or natural light</a> expand the potential for food sourcing in urban areas. Urban farming has increased by over <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/urban-agriculture-food-security-2628852711.html" target="_self">30 percent in the past 30 years</a>, with no indication of slowing down. Urban land could grow fruit and vegetables for 15 percent of the population, <a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-03/uos-ulc031720.php" target="_blank">research shows</a>.</p>
<p>While the <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/grow-your-own-urban-farming-flourishes-in-coronavirus-lockdowns/" target="_blank">COVID-19 lockdowns have inspired a burst of urban farming</a> as people have been starting to grow their own fruits and vegetables at home, a renewed interest in culinary arts, plus a nostalgia for simpler times in many fast-paced big cities — just look at all the mid-century-era diners <a href="https://www.timeout.com/newyork/news/why-so-many-restaurants-opened-as-modern-diners-in-2019" target="_blank">popping up</a> in Manhattan right before the pandemic — may be accountable for the steady rise in urban farms. More consciousness about the environment, too, may lead small growers to want to reduce transportation emissions and take charge of the use of pesticides and fertilizers in their foods, but there's another great reason for urban farms to continue growing: feeding the masses. And with 68 percent of the world's population <a href="https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/2018-revision-of-world-urbanization-prospects.html" target="_blank">expected to live in urban areas by 2050</a>, it's time to take urban farming seriously as a viable, primary food source.</p><p>Despite being the wealthiest nation in the world, the United States had more than <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america" target="_blank">37 million people</a> struggling with hunger in 2018. Since the pandemic, that number is expected to rise to up to <a href="https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2020-04/Brief_Impact%20of%20Covid%20on%20Food%20Insecurity%204.22%20%28002%29.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">54 million people</a>. And while systemic changes may one day be able to greatly reduce this number, a planting cycle is quicker than an election cycle. Bureaucracy may not immediately solve fair wages, but vegetable seeds may help communities when times are tough.</p>
Urban Farming as a Social Practice
<p>In her work, Chef Q has helped turn empty lots and abandoned buildings into urban farms, which allows neighbors to "take ownership in their communities" and also become educated consumers. In neighborhoods where the fancy grocery store is referred to as "<a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/04/01/whole-foods-prices-amazon-announces-cuts-and-more-prime-benefits/3335214002/" target="_blank">Whole Paycheck</a>," Chef Q has seen seed exchanges help folks start growing new produce, and regain agency over their food budgets and eating habits. Programs like the <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com/e/15th-annual-chicago-food-policy-summit-registration-89317576275" target="_blank">Chicago Food Policy Summit</a>, a free annual event on Chicago's South Side, help popularize urban farming and education and help provide Chicagoans with grants to start growing their own food. Though <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/30/dining/urban-farming-kids-healthy-food-new-york-city.html" target="_blank">gentrification may bring relief</a> to previously dubbed <a href="https://truthout.org/articles/how-do-people-living-in-a-food-desert-feed-themselves-amid-a-pandemic/" target="_blank">food deserts</a> — neighborhoods without a nearby source of fresh food — the slew of problems attached to gentrification, including higher costs of living, can easily make these new, more nutritious food options completely unaffordable to residents of the neighborhood.</p><p>As seen in smaller cities, urban farming may be the key for cities to be less reliant on rural areas, and also help <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-urban-agriculture-can-improve-food-security-in-us-cities-106435" target="_blank">achieve food security</a>. As Dr. Miguel Altieri, professor of agroecology at the University of California, Berkeley, has shown, diversified gardens in urban areas can yield a large range of produce and efficiently feed nearby residents.</p><p>Of course, land in cities is often at a premium, with many people living in little space. Shifting public land use to incorporate food growth and getting creative with rooftops, basements and unused buildings can seriously change the way cities consume fresh ingredients.</p><p>In fact, renewed efforts by the conservation organization <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">World Wildlife Fund</a> to <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90505222/why-the-world-wildlife-fund-is-trying-to-spark-an-indoor-farming-revolution" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">boost indoor farming</a> may revolutionize some sources of produce, particularly in cities. Repurposing unused indoor space, such as warehouses, can create direct sources of ingredients for restaurants or community-supported agriculture for neighbors. Indoor farming, while potentially more expensive, also allows urbanites from all walks of life to connect to the food system, repurpose food waste into compost and expand knowledge on growing food. <a href="https://www.gothamgreens.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Greenhouses like Gotham Greens</a>' rooftop spaces can supplement indoor and outdoor spaces, adding even more potential healthy food to local ecosystems.</p>Urban Gardening With Neighbors in Mind
<p>When she's not hosting pop-up dinners with culinarily curious Chicagoans, Chef Q volunteers with <a href="https://www.facebook.com/fosterstreetgarden/" target="_blank">Foster Street Urban Agriculture</a>, a nonprofit garden that aims to help end food insecurity in Evanston, the Chicago suburb home to Northwestern University. In the garden, Chef Q teaches kids how to water, plant, weed and grow produce. She'll notice a multigenerational interest: "Once kids taste zucchini, it's over," she jokes, of little ones bringing in parents and grandparents to learn to cook with more fresh produce. "They'll start [the program] eating hot Cheetos, and they're eating something green and leafy and won't go back."</p><p>Kids also just love being able to eat something that comes out of the ground and will take their passion back home, growing tomatoes in their windowsills or trying other small gardening projects in spaces available to them near home. Harvests from Foster Street are donated to food pantries and also sold at a local farmers market, where kids learn community-based entrepreneurial skills.</p><p>"Everyone eats, it's a common denominator," she says. "When food is on the table, people will have conversations."</p><p>Now, in the wake of COVID-19, urban farms have become more essential than ever. Chef Q has partnered with farms that would otherwise throw away produce without their major restaurant and hotel clients, to redistribute food to Chicagoans in need. She's noticed a spike in the price of fresh food, thanks in part to the expensive early May crops — peas, leeks and spinach. "It's been imperative," she says, of feeding the community with a local bounty of eggplant, microgreens, cheese and more farm-to-fork provisions.</p><p>Chef Q emphasizes that urban gardens still have to grow food to feed communities. Across the nation, we've seen victory gardens pop up in yards of homebound upper-middle-class Americans, planted with hope, thriftiness and a creative outlet in mind. But for those who don't have yards or ample space, shared urban gardens can still serve a local population. When people don't have money, growing food is a solution to provide nutrition, and perhaps even income. And it starts with advocacy, volunteers and outreach. "Plant something in the windowsill," Chef Q suggests, as an entryway into small-scale gardening. "It's essential. We can't stop."</p>
<p class=""><em>Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner is a writer based in New York. She is a writing fellow at <a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Earth | Food | Life</a>, a project of the Independent Media Institute. She's written for the New York Times, Bon Appetit, Food & Wine, Travel & Leisure, Conde Nast Traveler, Glamour, AlterNet, Cosmopolitan, Teen Vogue, Architectural Digest, Them and other publications. She holds a bachelor's degree in creative writing from Columbia University and is also at work on a novel. Follow her on Twitter: <a href="https://twitter.com/melissabethk" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">@melissabethk</a>.</em></p><p class=""><em>This article was produced by </em><a href="https://independentmediainstitute.org/earth-food-life/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Earth | Food | Life</em></a><em>, a project of the Independent Media Institute.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Activists from the climate protest group Extinction Rebellion wear PPE as they perform during a march through central London on September 1, 2020. Isabel Infantes / AFP / Getty Images
After a coronavirus-induced hiatus, the activist group Extinction Rebellion (XR) is back on the streets of the UK demanding action on the climate crisis.
<p>The group kicked off 10 days of planned civil disobedience on Tuesday with protests in London, Manchester and Cardiff, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/sep/01/extinction-rebellion-plan-two-weeks-of-disruption-as-parliament-returns?CMP=twt_a-environment_b-gdneco&fbclid=IwAR3RnBU7-hTcnfN9CsAiaNVPCLkIrspHNWlD5H7dJCT-ApTChhUAeYKYvcg" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. The London protest ended in Parliament Square as the UK's legislative body returned from its summer recess.</p><p>"The government is failing to do what's necessary to keep people safe. We are here, taking action, because their criminal negligence is putting lives at risk," Extinction Rebellion said on its website, <a href="https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-britain-protests/extinction-rebellion-urges-returning-uk-lawmakers-to-take-climate-action-idUKKBN25S4W0" target="_blank">Reuters reported</a>. "We refuse to be bystanders and wait for this emergency to push beyond the point of no return."</p>
<p>Specifically, the group wants Parliament to pass the <a href="https://www.ceebill.uk/" target="_blank">Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill</a>.</p><p>The CEE Bill was written by a coalition of scientists, lawyers and activists determined to advance UK climate policy beyond its current goal of reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Instead, it would require a climate plan that would:</p><ol><li>Reduce emissions enough to account for the UK's "fair share" of carbon pollution</li><li>Account for the country's whole carbon footprint, both at home and abroad</li><li>Protect nature both in the UK and abroad by looking at the impact of consumer supply chains</li><li>Not rely on new technologies as an excuse to keep polluting at current levels</li><li>Create a citizen's assembly "with bite" to shape climate policy</li></ol>
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<p>UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson defended his government's climate legacy and promised new announcements in the fall, Reuters reported.</p><p>Before a cabinet meeting, he told senior ministers that he planned a green recovery from the economic toll of the coronavirus pandemic.</p><p>"From this crisis we will build back better in this country, we will build back faster and we will build back greener," Johnson said. "And there will be a lot more to come about the way in which this government is going to lead a new green industrial revolution for the UK."</p><p>The planned disruptions come a little less than a year after XR's "Autumn Uprising" shut down large parts of central London and led to more than 1,700 arrests, the <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/extinction-rebellion-set-to-hold-10-days-of-climate-change-demonstrations-across-central-london-a4536891.html" target="_blank">Evening Standard</a> reported. This in turn led to the Metropolitan Police <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/extinction-rebellion-banned-london-2640972104.html" target="_self">banning</a> the group in London, a move later found to be <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/extinction-rebellion-ban-london-unlawful-2641246275.html" target="_self">illegal</a>.</p><p>Tuesday's London protest drew thousands of people and resulted in 65 arrests, according to The Guardian.</p>
<p><br>This year, the Metropolitan Police have set limits on when and where gatherings can take place and prohibited the use of boats, vehicles or other structures in processions, the Evening Standard reported. They have also threatened a roughly $13,000 fine for organizing a gathering of more than 30 people during the pandemic, The Guardian reported.</p><p>XR already canceled protests planned for earlier in the year because of the coronavirus, according to Reuters.</p><p>The Guardian reported that a majority of Tuesday's protesters wore masks, and XR has also organized a digital rebellion for those who cannot join in person.</p><p>For some participants, however, the virus made them more determined to take to the streets.</p><p>"By living the way we live, we are making ourselves more vulnerable to these pandemics and that's why [the climate crisis] should never have been off the agenda, it should be part and parcel of the Covid debate," 50-year-old Ava, from Lewes in East Sussex, told The Guardian.<br></p>
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Yasuni Man follows Otobo Baihua, a Waorani man who lives in the Yasuni community of Boanamo in Ecuador's Amazon. ©Ryan P. Killackey / Pollywog Productions
Among its many devastating impacts, the coronavirus has brought ecotourism to a halt in the Ecuadorian Amazon. But you can still visit the region from the safety of your couch, while supporting its Indigenous communities, by streaming Yasuni Man.
<p>The award-winning documentary transports viewers to the<a href="https://en.unesco.org/biosphere/lac/yasuni" target="_blank"> Yasuni Biosphere Reserve</a>, an imperiled pocket of the Ecuadorian<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/Amazon-rainforest" target="_self"> Amazon</a> that is one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. After touring the festival circuit for about two years, the film made its debut on major streaming services Aug. 25. If you watch <em>Yasuni Man</em> within the first two weeks of its release, a percentage of the proceeds benefit the<a href="http://www.amazonemergencyfund.org/" target="_blank"> Amazon Emergency Fund</a> to help the region's<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/indigenous" target="_self"> Indigenous</a> communities fight COVID-19.</p><p><em>Y</em><em>asuni Man</em> tells the story of Ecuador's Indigenous Waorani people and their fight to protect the area of rainforest they call home. The film follows Director Ryan Patrick Killackey as he visits the home of a Waorani man named Otobo Baihua and his family in the Yasuni community of Boanamo.</p><p><span></span>The movie alternates between telling the complex history of Yasuni and showing unprecedented footage of daily Waorani life. Killackey's camera follows Baihua and his family as they hunt for monkeys with blow darts, grind yuca to make a drink called chicha and introduce visiting scientists to the<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self"> wildlife</a> in their backyard.</p>
<p>But Yasuni is also home to <a href="https://phys.org/news/2016-09-ecuador-oil-amazon-nature-reserve.html" target="_blank">more than 40 percent of Ecuador's oil reserves,</a> and the film details the conflict between fossil fuel companies, the Ecuadorian government and different communities of Waorani over the future of this unique ecosystem.</p><p>As the forest and its inhabitants face new threats from<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuel" target="_self"> fossil fuel</a> extraction and the coronavirus pandemic, Killackey says the film is more relevant than ever. <br></p><p>"I actually don't think <em>Yasuni Man</em> will ever become irrelevant because our global community is not taking steps to stop the crisis that's happening in Yasuni and other biodiverse places," Killackey told EcoWatch. </p><p><em>Yasuni Man</em> was filmed over five expeditions between 2011 and 2016, but Killackey said not much had changed since then in terms of the underlying pressures on the reserve and its inhabitants. However, Ecuador's<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/oil-spill-time-coronavirus-200710101154552.html" target="_blank"> worst oil spill in decades</a> and the spread of the coronavirus have made the reserve's fate all the more urgent.</p>
<p>The oil spill occurred April 7, when a landslide ruptured three<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines" target="_self"> pipelines</a> along the Coca River, dumping 15,800 barrels of crude oil into the water. The spill eventually reached the Napo River that borders Yasuni. The contamination of water and wildlife made it harder for Indigenous communities throughout Ecuador to protect themselves from the coronavirus as it interfered with their ability to sustain themselves in isolation.<br></p>
<p>"What should you do in case of a fire during a tornado?" scholars<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/profile/manuela-picq.html" target="_blank"> Manuela Picq</a> and<a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/profile/eduardo-kohn.html" target="_blank"> Eduardo Kohn</a> wrote of the dilemma faced by Ecuador's Indingeous communities in the wake of the spill. "Leave the building or stay inside?"</p><p>In addition to threatening Indigenous health and compounding the impact of the oil spill, Killackey explained that the coronavirus has had two other negative effects on Yasuni. First, the pandemic has ended ecotourism across Ecuador, but fossil fuel extraction continues. The former removes a major source of employment for Yasuni's Indigenous people and gives them little choice but to seek work with the oil companies or participate in bushmeat hunting or logging.</p>
<p>Second, the pandemic has made it more difficult for larger nonprofits and smaller grassroots organizations to monitor the oil companies on the ground. Satellite images published by<a href="https://www.amazonconservation.org/2020-itt-yasuni/" target="_blank"> Amazon Conservation</a> revealed that construction began on a new oil road in Yasuni in March. This was especially concerning because the road moved closer to the "Intangible Zone," a part of the reserve set aside for the Tagaeri and Taromenane, two Waorani clans living in voluntary isolation.<br></p>
<p>"Yasuni is like this microcosm," Killackey told EcoWatch. "You can just look at this little beautiful gem of a forest and see all of these crises happening very clearly."</p><p>Since the images were published, construction on the road has ceased. But the incident reveals the ways in which companies across the Amazon are taking advantage of the pandemic.</p>
<p>"Development is not stopping," Killackey said. "And this whole crisis with coronavirus is actually probably helping many of these major corporations and these banks to be able to go in there and exploit the natural resources and exploit the people."<br></p>
<p>Killackey hopes the film will raise awareness of the pressures on Yasuni and provide advocates with the tools to help preserve it.</p><p>"Really I think the most important thing you can do is educate an audience and try to make them feel a bond and a connection with a place and a people," Killackey said.</p><p>As part of that educational project, Killackey, a wildlife biologist by training, brought a team of scientists to Boanamo to survey the<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/biodiversity" target="_self"> biodiversity</a> in Otobo Baihua's community and filmed their research as part of the documentary. The survey resulted in eight scientific studies, two of which, on<a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323483191_Rapid_inventory_preliminary_annotated_checklist_and_breeding_records_of_the_birds_Aves_of_the_Boanamo_indigenous_community_Orellana_Province_Ecuador" target="_blank"> birds</a> and<a href="https://www.degruyter.com/view/journals/mamm/ahead-of-print/article-10.1515-mammalia-2019-0144/article-10.1515-mammalia-2019-0144.xml" target="_blank"> mammals</a>, have already been published in peer-reviewed journals.</p>
<p>Among other finds, the team discovered a previously undescribed species of fish and two seemingly identical frogs in the genus <em>Pristimantis </em>that were actually distinct species<em>.</em><br></p><p style="">Killackey and his team said it was important to document and showcase the biological richness of Yasuni so that people would know what was there and be motivated to protect it.</p><p style="">"Very few Ecuadorians are truly aware of the biodiversity we have, specially about fishes, and its importance," Cecilia Puertas-Donoso, an ichthyologist featured in the film, said in an email. "That is something we should be proud of, and eager to preserve. I would like to tell them this phrase I read somewhere, that 'Destroying the Amazon to extract oil is like making a hole in the Sistine Chapel to remove stones.'"</p><p style="">You can stream <em>Yasuni Man</em> on<a href="https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Yasuni_Man?id=DzYRWAUEknE.P&hl=en" target="_blank"> GooglePlay</a>,<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/detail/B08CVRTWBF/ref=atv_dp_share_cu_" target="_blank"> Amazon</a>,<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/yasuni-man/id1523042123?ls=1" target="_blank"> iTunes</a> or<a href="https://vimeo.com/ondemand/yasuniman" target="_blank"> Vimeo</a>.</p>
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Steve Culver cries with his dog Otis as he talks about what he said was the, "most terrifying event in his life," when Hurricane Harvey destroyed most of his home on August 26, 2017 in Rockport, Texas. Joe Raedle / Getty Images
The psychological toll of climate change-fueled disasters, now compounded by the coronavirus pandemic, is mounting and the U.S. is unprepared. These are the findings of a project by the Center for Public Integrity and Columbia Journalism Investigations, in collaboration with 10 local and regional outlets.
<p>The U.S. has faced nearly 40 <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVwCdY9fvdJJW83rnwh117254W15bp5B4fc8ywN4CDgd_3p_97V1-WJV7CgP_1W81C3NF6bjdbjW4L74GN4t2z3hW4vZ5rs46MSnsW2lYGv_1-BvLRW1GYqz79k0KR_W7sxm1f9jR2GVW5GQCty3FTXTqW8F9xvf64zjrwW45PFR32661hCW2yP80r1Rgt6bVmhd-z5ycL8SN9d1wzHSbtC-W5dxz457-Hb6KW2V5yzT2tJfFVW36xVxl7sgqpHW6ypwgw14ShndW49lj6W7cLmtHW83mTX31tgSVWN38svz6HQd40MDLCZ1MPgxJW6nbgwn3N1HCFW2BfQkp8z2GQPW7KBY946hPTddW2QbTMT7LmxXB36c71" target="_blank">billion-dollar disasters</a> in the past decade, more than ever before. </p><p>One such event, Hurricane Harvey in 2017, caused half of Houston-area residents to struggle with powerful or severe emotional distress in its aftermath, according to a Rice University <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVwCdY9fvdJJW83rnwh117254W15bp5B4fc8ywN4CDgd_3p_97V1-WJV7Cg-glN5B-DXP3NjX8W20xx8C7PHNw4N7YDTR5_BtbbW3-FD_42BFWkQW7R0yZy6NXQ7VN7Cc9wrWXTlzW8vmdH53xYkLDW2l25DH6dsgzvW16dTQx7K278KMRjw1Lsqs7PW6Fpqmh4xYxhVW8yQZHd4b6ymvW11M2823SxV02W2z2DM-3M2WwrV64wwZ5ct_vBW1mG0jt3bzh3lW61b3vN5Tv5t8W1zsYwc4kNd8bW5xhw5m7D2ww-W8L1f4T6NDsM1MWQq4wndbNPW8mWklj5Zf95JW27yx7C7jHxmyVV-TnB66Zv8V3lvk1" target="_blank">survey</a> to be published Wednesday. </p><p>Meanwhile, the main federal vehicle for addressing the psychological trauma of weather and climate disasters, the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, has distributed about as much in post-disaster assistance over its three decades of existence ($867 million) as one agency within the Department of Defense <a href="https://newsletter.climatenexus.org/e2t/tc/VVwCdY9fvdJJW83rnwh117254W15bp5B4fc8ywN4CDgfV3p_b1V1-WJV7CgPpRW23np3-1-VhCSW32jnJp2XqbH7W3S-Ytq5ff3qQW2FRHZC3CP3f1Vdp44c1Tsg0GVrfCCm9cTVXbW58mLgQ1NG0LBW3-8Qc55jRc64W2jFSB94mFsNLW10nYbB8jPxQRN50DR4zsYZlVW4Yhg2r1Lgfx8W8Rj-fx5CpkSbW5hqLcB9hDmfNV9MqbJ5SpVXrW4ZL95L42tGCBW6pWjGr2RvvbtW43y0Y_61hkG-N8_WtjTcXt4wW27-YDT5JS9PJW9lH7cw27VFYVW3NQ51N2DrLDlW8dCKlC5McKs0W7VL3Ww6lslcmW74pXDW54yxf9W3NdR968xzbm8N8pp78dpg_wmW1w__w53Bgl80VQgSy18LYDNpW7kN2p97bq7VR3hmt1" target="_blank">lost track of</a> in a single year.</p>
<p>Even if the government were to fully fund and support comprehensive mental health care for disaster survivors, it would be insufficient without action to mitigate the underlying reality of climate change, advocates argue. </p><p>"After a disaster, if the government does not declare a climate emergency and start acting like it, it's just such a betrayal," said Margaret Klein Salamon, a psychologist who started the advocacy group The Climate Mobilization after living through Superstorm Sandy. </p><p>Providing mental-health support while failing to fight climate change, "is like a Band-Aid. How can we trust a government that does so little to protect us?"</p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong></p><p><a href="https://thelensnola.org/2020/08/25/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_IYMaLPEzuxx3m5lRW1kpZ3zuggy4rNynJgDAn-LyPI8qs-Nfeow8gDZmaDzIEJoVeqgOodYxiSecyOyAwk6rrQEjXp28w35U6gg4evV8nCv447Hw&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Lens</a>, <a href="https://www.calhealthreport.org/2020/08/25/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8O2txDji7oE7ZNnEk93fIEaGiM8-mpoTI-d1Cy6MibxAxqgN5T3zdyEeFn0zYURJ-2VHdMIFLUljXuttQ805nEyjwYfvxF38aksTU3D2Fux5Xfcfw&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">California Health Report</a>, <a href="https://www.thestate.com/news/state/south-carolina/article245105365.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9nj3S4ydlBCfo9HRx9AcjJXy2mb7b5PQgEKQs3wSXxt1JJNctDkTNBoccH9nMpuTAG2KaZYQMz_dUvHoDgkTIjKGVRRUWZcJVXUBO2aYtzCMTdNvY&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The State</a>, <a href="https://www.sideeffectspaublicmedia.org/post/flood-devastated-town-2019-and-residents-are-still-struggling?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--tF4OEOjQd7QwIYWNHPJMDrp6VuExDz3GuLopN4W7q4WSD55ryYkcPvh_egxcapZLCybTwjLNpheJow9RCWmsQYZdfdvROdygmf8mDu5i9nz_uVmE&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Side Effects Public Media</a>, <a href="https://mendovoice.com/2020/08/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_egHOfDmvv0UVXNuLuCFyZxEOTHfsl4Thlpu-i7ufhW3xb5mENi1GfUZRyRiFgsLGj_7PDjSExcnLbkWbzXvhwU7odDwJ13jWbjt-YindYa2o31uo&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">The Mendocino Voice</a>, <a href="https://www.iowawatch.org/2020/08/25/iowas-parkersburg-tornado-survivors-offer-support-hope-after-derecho-turmoil/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8nXffbOu60PrL7t9yhO-r2njCeypZnjoR3EkdT0uZBw_RI25Dj6TGPhdPwOzy09O5DTJlxaVfYaUtuumf-7T6YvR9aY4E4h2ytJl_bYRWNvucVy4c&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">IowaWatch</a>, <a href="https://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article245105365.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--l_UVm2BIOxx0WB-ydzSES88Md-qAbAo6cEEzBokxWpPkCe8lK_gTNBXmO-1RJCFHQ7ire2Nn2j66WrKDqUvnVmCwKRsRlHnb0Nvx7k_QG_q8YUEM&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Hilton Head Island Packet</a>, <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2020/08/25/texas-natural-disasters--mental-health/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8s-Rbrv62GfG-dDJhjMplNrI9AtFD6Ao-N3JjE7ckblqW-F36aBm42Q_ISwTiYBNaM1BN2XX7R7TS8e22NU1cScaIVVcpyj7n1nCUQTrc1TS1TIX4&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Texas Tribune</a>, <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/08/disasters-are-driving-a-mental-health-crisis-the-only-federal-program-to-address-it-is-underfunded/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=93959797&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--GuoNr5p1I8z_dvOBbUxJEH2Cd_sxwitDSRrA9LjhsDvPyyNpucO82ES5Ba_tgwyJg3hN3kBNuEqCYrwm86kU46TTDvMUg3a7J6F1rueXeh4ObPDY&utm_content=93959797&utm_source=hs_email" target="_blank">Mother Jones</a><br/></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>
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A reinfection requires genetic testing in both the first and second instances of infection to see whether there are differences in the virus present. ER Productions Limited / Getty Images
A patient in the Netherlands and another in Belgium have been reinfected with the coronavirus, Dutch media reported Tuesday, following reports that scientists in Hong Kong had confirmed the first known reinfection.
<p>The Dutch patient was an older person with a weakened immune system, Dutch broadcaster NOS reported, citing virologist Marion Koopmans. </p><p>Koopsmans said it was more common for people to remain infected with the virus for a long time, but with mild symptoms, before it suddenly flares up again. A reinfection — as is the case with the Dutch and Belgian cases — requires genetic testing in both the first and second instances of infection to see whether there are differences in the virus present, Koopmans said.</p><p><span></span>"That someone would pop up with a reinfection, it doesn't make me nervous," she said. "We have to see whether it happens often."</p>
Belgian Case 'Not Good News'
<p>The Belgian patient displayed only mild symptoms, NOS reported, citing virologist Marc Van Ranst. "It's not good news," Ranst said.</p><p>The development shows that the antibodies the patient developed in the first case were not strong enough to fend off an infection from a slightly different variant of the virus, he said.</p><p>It is not clear if this is a rare phenomenon or if there are "many more people who could have a reinfection after six or seven months," he said.</p>First Reinfection Confirmed in Hong Kong
<p>The European developments follow Monday <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/hong-kong-researchers-report-first-known-covid-19-reinfection/a-54680268" target="_blank">reports of the first confirmed coronavirus reinfection</a>, a man in Hong Kong.</p><p>The 33-year-old, who was infected with the virus in March, returned in mid-August from a trip to Spain infected with a different strain.</p><p>"COVID-19 patients should not assume after they recover that they won't get infected again," said Kelvin Kai-Wang To, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong.</p><p>"It shows that some people do not have lifelong immunity" to the virus even if they've already been infected, To said.</p><p>Some experts see the news as a positive development. "If there is a reinfection, it suggests the possibility there was residual immunity ... that helped protect the patient" from getting sick again, said Jesse Goodman, a former U.S. Food and Drug Administration chief scientist, now at Georgetown University, responding to the Hong Kong case.</p><p>The Hong Kong patient did not display any symptoms during his most recent infection. </p>Implications for Vaccine Development
<p>The possibility of reinfection has implications for the global race to develop a vaccine and for key decisions on when people return to school and work.</p><p>Speaking on the Hong Kong case, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine microbiologist Brendan Wren said the case was "a very rare example of reinfection and it should not negate the global drive to develop COVID-19 vaccines."</p>From Your Site Articles
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