Watch 1PM Weekly News - September 11, 2023
This week Shelby covers 7 breaking news stories--from the new global biodiversity fund to the floods devastating Pakistan.
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185 Countries Fund International Conservation
185 countries have officially agreed to create a fund to address global biodiversity goals. The fund will quote “mobilize and accelerate investments from governments, philanthropy, and the private sector” to support international conservation efforts. Canada and the United Kingdom have already pledged a combined one hundred and $59 million, and the fund has a goal to reach $200 million total initial contributions from three or more donors by the end of the year.
- https://news.mongabay.com/2023/08/new-global-biodiversity-fund-to-restore-nature-worldwide-by-2030-officially-launches/,
- https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/documents/2023-06/EN_GEF.C.64.05_Global%20Biodiversity_Framework_Fund_Establishment_0.pdf,
Pakistan Flooding Submerged 1/3 of the Country
Meanwhile, it has been almost a year since floods submerged a third of Pakistan’s land, leaving 5.4 million people to rely on water from damaged and contaminated systems. Unsafe water has led to increased incidence of disease and death. But Pakistan faces other climate-related health challenges as rising temperatures cause heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and even death. A twentytwenty report from the Lancet noted that global warming contributed to a 68 percent increase in global heat-related deaths in twenty seventeen to twentytwentyone as compared to two thousand to two thousand four. The impacts of rising temperatures have been felt most harshly in warmer, and often lower-income areas, like South Asia, Africa, and Central America.
- https://www.thelancet.com/article/S0140-6736(22)01540-9/fulltext,
- https://www.unicef.org/emergencies/devastating-floods-pakistan-2022,
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/interactive/2023/pakistan-extreme-heat-health-impacts-death?itid=hp-top-table-main_p001_f001,
Illegal Logging in Mexico Ruins Protected Forests
In Mexico, another climate change culprit is illegal logging. The industry targeted the arboreal mountains of Mexico City for illegal logging operations over the past several years, devastating six thousand acres of forest and spreading pollution to nearby communities. While Mexico City is often thought of as a booming metropolis, about half of the city is rural, and twenty percent–including the mountains–fall into protected nature areas. Local police and soldiers have raided illegal sawmills, and the city has sponsored some reforestation efforts, but the clandestine logging industry is growing in numbers and in force. Operations have even come to violent blows with authorities, and one local ranger said quote “These criminals completely out-gun us.”
Deforestation Encroaching on Indigenous Territory in Brazil
Brazil faces similar issues with addressing illegal industries’ impact on the environment. The Ituna-Itata Indigenous Territory has suffered massive deforestation and encroachment on indigenous communities’ cultural lands, and in two thousand eleven, the government attempted to formally demarcate the land to prevent entrance to outsiders. But criminal land-grabbers fought back by invading the area and filling it with cows. Now Brazil’s government has announced its largest ever operation to remove thousands of these cows and reclaim the land. If they are successful, it will support the protection of one hundred and forty-two thousand hectares of indigenous territory.
Energy Department Grants $10 Billion to Auto Industry
In the US, the Energy Department recently announced $2 billion in grants and $10 billion in loans available through Inflation Reduction Act funding that will support the auto industry to convert factories to hybrid and electric vehicle production. The United Auto Workers union is set to strike for better working conditions and protections in mid-September, and this federal funding is seen by some as an effort to respond to autoworkers’ concerns. The goal is to create domestic green jobs that are good for the American worker and better for the environment. But the president of the United Auto Workers, Shawn Fain, says this new funding isn’t enough. Quote “The automakers have not yet promised job security in our ongoing negotiations.” Fain also pointed out that workers have been displaced by three recent plant closures in Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan. As of this reporting, a strike is still scheduled for September 14th.
- https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/31/climate/biden-electric-vehicles-climate.html,
- https://apnews.com/article/automakers-cars-strike-pay-uaw-union-detroit-349a6e7281f1b07710cfcad511dcaa05,
California Pushes Phasing Out Fossil Fuels
Next, California’s state assembly passed a resolution early this month to endorse a call for a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The resolution was introduced by Majority Whip Senator Lena Gonzalez, and pushes the Biden administration to support Pacific island nations in seeking a treaty that would manage the production and eventual phase out of fossil fuels. One hundred global governments and thousands of organizations, including the World Health Organization, also support the treaty initiative.
Celebrate National Marine Sanctuary with Stamps
And finally, let’s send today’s news off with a story about stamps. Last month, the US Postal Service released a new series of Forever stamps celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the National Marine Sanctuary System. Marine sanctuaries protect habitat, biodiversity, and cultural sites within America’s oceans and Great Lakes. The new stamps feature gorgeous coastlines and cute creatures, and I think they looked great on my wedding reception thank you cards.