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We wrote 3 weeks ago that the COVID-19 outbreak could prove to be a serious impediment to global efforts to curb climate change and promote conservation, and this concern has been realized as yesterday the 2020 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, has been rescheduled for 2021.
Why This Matters:COP26 was to be a make or break moment when all nations were going to be asked to submit their new (and hopefully more ambitious) long-term goals emissions reductions goals as is the protocol to do every 5 years after the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. There’s also a worry that the immense economic implications of the coronavirus crisis could impede the actions countries would have taken to fight climate change, which is why in the United States we must use our response to the virus to also build our green economy.
Don’t Lose Hope:Bill Gates told TED’s Chris Anderson that coronavirus can be a catalyst for solving climate change stating that,“That idea of innovation and science and the world working together — that is totally common between these two problems, and so I don’t think this has to be a huge set back for climate.”
Touch of Magic: Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling has launched an online initiative, www.harrypotterathome.com, which features quizzes, games and other activities to bring a little magic to housebound families.
The White House Response: Aside from the official White House coronavirus task force that’s being led by VP Mike Pence, President Trump’s son in law Jared Kushner has also been leading his own task force that seeks to bring together leaders from the private sector to expand test access, ramp up industry production of needed medical supplies, and figure out how to get those supplies to key locations.
But as Politico reported, “confusion and potential conflict of interests brewing. Projects are so decentralized that one team often has little idea what others are doing, and there is limited vetting of private companies’ and executives’ financial interests.” Kushner’s task force has also “duplicated existing federal teams and operations, and its focus on rapid, short-term decisions has created concern among some health-agency officials.”
Americans are within their rights to be concerned by the competency of the Trump White House and its response to COVID-19. As the Boston Globe Editorial Board printed, the President “has blood on his hands.”
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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