• Animals

Mink Farm Die-Off Due to COVID

• #COVID19
• animals
• disease
• mink
• outbreaks

NBC News reported that more than 10,000 minks in Utah mink “farms” have contracted COVID and died, forcing the state to close them and begin an investigation into what caused the outbreak. 

Why This Matters:  The fact that the virus spread from humans to the animals is alarming, but fortunately the risk of it spreading from minks to humans is low, according to the Utah State Veterinarian and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

• Climate Change

Los Angeles Hits All Time High of 121 Degrees

• #COVID19
• excessive heat
• heat
• heat warning
• Los Angeles
• wildfires

Temperatures in Los Angeles over the weekend soared — and hit a record high of 121 degrees and the record-setting temperatures resulted in power outages to tens of thousands, and people crowded area beaches in an effort to stay cool.

Why This Matters:  Climate change is straining the state to the breaking point — between the fires around the state and extreme heat, plus the coronavirus too.

• Politics

Extinction Rebellion Stages New Round of Protests Across the U.K.

• #COVID19
• #ExtinctionRebellion
• Boris Johnson
• climate crisis
• London
• parliament

The U.K. Parliament returned to work this week after their summer recess, and the leaders were met with thousands of Extinction Rebellion (XR) protesters who are leading acts of civil disobedience throughout London, which they plan to continue for another 10-14 days.

Why This Matters:  The COVID pandemic is much more under control in the United Kingdom than it is here, but government officials are not taking any chances — they have strict orders about social distancing and limiting the protests to off-road areas near Parliament Square

• Sustainability

COVID Pandemic Stalls NYC Resilience Funding Bill — Minorities Stand to Lose The Most

• #COVID19
• flood
• insurance
• minority communities
• New York City
• sea level rise
• storm surge

Eight years ago Superstorm Sandy killed 44 people in New York City, cost the City approximately $19 billion in damages and lost economic activity according to city officials, and left more than 69,000 residences damaged.  Inside Climate News’ Kristoffer Tigue reported that earlier this year the New York state legislature was poised to pass a $3b bill called the “Restore Mother Nature Bond Act,” which would have allowed the state to issued bonds to help fund projects specifically geared toward reducing New York’s flood risk.  

Why This Matters:  Advocates argue that this delay in climate adaptation funding will hurt New York City’s low-income communities of color, which already bear a disproportionate burden of climate impacts.

• Animals

Slowing The Spread of Zoonotic Diseases Starts With Humans

• #COVID19
• conservation
• coronavirus
• zoonotic disease

The outbreak of COVID-19 has reminded the world that zoonotic diseases are a major threat to human health. Yet, viruses that spread from animals to humans don’t have to occur in wet markets or through illicit wildlife trade, captive animals can also spread them due to the stress and proximity to humans that occur in […]

• People

More Than A Thousand Scientists Denounce Trump’s Denigration of Science

• #COVID19
• climate change
• National Academy of Sciences
• science

1,240 National Academy of Science (NAS) members have “registered their personal concern about the Trump administration’s denigrations of science,” Inside Climate News reported this week. The open letter, first written in 2016 has amassed hundreds of signatures in just the past few weeks. 

Why This Matters: In the midst of a global pandemic and horrifying examples of the effects of climate change, we need science-based policies more than ever.