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We’re seeing the tension increase between public health experts, the governors who are listening to their advice, and the conservative voices who keep pushing the narrative that mandates to keep people home aren’t worth the risk to the economy. This comes as White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci said that the United States could incur 100,000-200,000 COVID-19 deaths according to current projections and even President Trump has backed off his goal of getting Americans to church on Easter.
Why This Matters: As Quartz reported, “research published this week shows that aggressive social distancing measures, while extremely disruptive to commerce in the near term, can result in faster economic growth when the disease subsides.” And on the whole, this crisis shows that our economy wasn’t nearly as strong as we were led to believe.
What Comes Next: We will get to a day when the coronavirus pandemic is in our rearview mirror, but there will be no “going back to normal” once that time comes. We must prepare our cities for pandemics, which will require an overhaul of our transportation systems as well as the ways in which we congregate (including at schools, churches, and sporting events).
What About the Workers: As we look at the longer-term economic impacts resulting from coronavirus, protecting workers will be something we must contend with. As Joe Biden suggested, pushing through a Green New Deal agenda in subsequent stimulus bills could build the green economy while also helping put workers back to work.
But how do trade unions feel about this play? The podcast Political Climate spoke to Lee Anderson, director of government affairs at the Utility Workers Union of America, and Anna Fendley, director of regulatory and state policy at the United Steelworkers about how to fit workers into plans for a green economy.
On that note, Amazon employees at the company’s Staten Island, New York, facility plan to walk off the job Monday amid allegations the online retail giant has mishandled its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) has required PFAS, cancer-causing chemicals used in manufacturing, in firefighting gear for years despite cancer being the leading killer of firefighters. An extensive investigative two-part story by E&E News’ Ariel Wittenberg reveals not only the dangers of current equipment standards but the lengths the NFPA has gone to hide them.
Why This Matters: A study of 30,000 firefighters from 2010 to 2015 found that firefighters have an increased risk of many different cancers including: leukemia, malignant mesothelioma, bladder and prostate cancers, lung cancer, brain cancer, and digestive and oral cancers.
by Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer World Health Organization expert Dr. Peter Ben Embarek revealed this week that the organization’s team of researchers have found two scenarios that could have transferred COVID-19 to humans. He acknowledges that COVID-19 could have been transmitted through frozen products at the Wuhan fish market, but the most likely scenario […]
By Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A new study published Monday has found that a second, sneezier plague is ramping up. Allergy seasons have increased in duration by an average of 20 days since 1990. Why? Rising temperatures and an abundance of atmospheric carbon are increasing the amount of pollen in the air, and researchers say the […]
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