June 16, 2020

Scientists fear Coalition push to deregulate environmental approvals will lead to extinction crisis

Scott Morrison’s announcement in wake of bushfires is ‘distressing’ and puts threatened species at risk, ecologists say

Scientists have expressed dismay and frustration at Scott Morrison’s latest push to deregulate the environmental approval process for major developments, noting it comes just months after an unprecedented bushfire crisis and during a review of national conservation laws.

In a speech on Monday, the prime minister said he wanted to slash approval times for major projects by moving to a streamlined “single touch” system for state and federal environmental assessments.

Morrison said the change would be informed by the review of Australia’s environment laws, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, which is under way. But his speech did not mention the environment or the act’s objectives to protect threatened species and ecosystems.

“It’s distressing,” said Ayesha Tulloch, a research fellow at the University of Sydney and vice-president of the Ecological Society of Australia.

“It’s an act which has the word environment in it and yet the conversations we have about it don’t even mention it. Even that term, ‘green tape’, is perceived as a negative thing rather than something that could promote economic stimulation.”

Graeme Samuel, a former competition watchdog chairman, is leading the once-in-a-decade review of the EPBC Act. He is due to hand down an interim report later this month.

Scientists and environmentalists argue the act is failing to prevent an extinction crisis. Just 22 of 6,500 projects referred for approval have been knocked back in the act’s 20-year history.

Australia has the world’s highest rate of mammalian extinction. Reporting by Guardian Australia has found the government has failed to implement or track measures for species known to be at risk, stopped listing major threats to species, and not registered a single piece of critical habitat for 15 years.


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/16/scientists-fear-push-to-deregulate-environmental-approvals-will-lead-to-extinction-crisis



Scientists argue the environmental protection act is failing to prevent an extinction crisis. Just 22 of 6,500 projects referred for approval have been knocked back in the act’s 20-year history. Photograph: Evan Quartermain/Humane Society International

June 16, 2020

Trump the superspreader?

President Trump is about to fail his big coronavirus test — the test of leadership — for a second time.

His original failures in the weeks and months leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak in America are by now well-documented. He was slow to take real steps to slow the spread of the virus, got angry at officials who warned the public to be prepared, and then seemed more interested in the ratings for his news conferences — or in finding a scapegoat for his failures — than in taking effective action.

If we're feeling charitable, some of these failures might be understandable. Global pandemics don't come along every day, and the United States is far from the only advanced nation to get caught short by the outbreak. But Trump is about to make everything worse, because he cares more about his own needs — to bask in applause, to be re-elected, to appear "strong" — than he does about the lives of Americans.

If Trump were a compassionate commander-in-chief, he wouldn't have called West Point cadets back to campus, compounding their risk of exposure to the coronavirus, just so he could give them a graduation speech. If he cared about the lives of his followers, he wouldn't be cramming 19,000 of them together in Tulsa this week for a campaign rally, creating a potential superspreader event. And if he cared about his duty more than the demands of his ego, he would be urging caution as states reopen and COVID-19 cases rise dramatically. Instead, he's rooting for a return to normal, even though normal is long gone.

The West Point speech was an unnecessary risk to the cadets, who had already dispersed from campus in order to avoid an outbreak. The president's planned rally Saturday in Tulsa looms as a much greater danger: Trump's campaign expects a packed house — officials claim hundreds of thousands of tickets have been distributed, even though the event center can hold fewer than 20,000 people. Meanwhile, the city's COVID-19 case trends are already on the rise, and local officials are worried that any new outbreak might overwhelm Tulsa hospitals.


Read more: https://theweek.com/articles/920004/trump-superspreader

June 16, 2020

The Daily Social Distancing Show: Supreme Court Outlaws LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination

The Supreme Court rules 6-3 that LGBTQ people have the right to sue for workplace discrimination. Meanwhile, Donald Trump has moved the date of his Tulsa rally so it’s no longer on Juneteenth, but rally attendees will have to sign a waiver in case of contracting coronavirus.


Donate to support the Equal Justice Initiative: dailyshow.com/EqualJusticeInitiative

June 16, 2020

Seth Meyers - Supreme Court Rules on LGBTQ Rights, Police Reform Gains Steam: A Closer Look

Seth takes a closer look at the Supreme Court issuing a historic ruling on LGBTQ civil rights as officials across the country move toward police reform.


Late Night with Seth Meyers is supporting City Harvest to help those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic. City Harvest is New York City’s largest food rescue organization, working to end hunger throughout its communities by rescuing 66 million pounds of food each year and delivering it, free of charge, to hundreds of food pantries, soup kitchens and other community partners across five boroughs. Click the button on the above/below to donate or visit https://www.cityharvest.org/.

June 16, 2020

The Daily Show: 9-1-1 for White People Emergencies

Finally, a 9-1-1 operator who can deal with White people’s emergencies: Dulce Sloan.

June 16, 2020

The Daily Social Distancing Show: Why Did Rayshard Brooks Have To Lose His Life?

Trevor unpacks the killing of Rayshard Brooks at the hands of Atlanta police.

June 15, 2020

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) - Facial Recognition

John Oliver takes a look at facial recognition technology, how it’s used by private companies and law enforcement, and why it can be dangerous.

June 15, 2020

Climate Crisis Weekly: What's your country's environment score?

The 2020 Environmental Performance Index is out — who’s No. 1?
Here’s a roundup of great reads to learn more about links between racism and the environment.
Germany, the largest emitter in Europe, submits its climate plan to the EU.
And more…

Yale and Columbia’s Environmental Performance Index (EPI) 2020 (https://epi.yale.edu/epi-results/2020/component/epi) is out — how does your country rank?

Overall EPI rankings indicate which countries are best addressing the environmental challenges that every nation faces.

The EPI “provides a quantitative basis for comparing, analyzing, and understanding environmental performance for 180 countries.” The interactive page has pull-down menus for both countries and categories, and you can crunch the data in many different ways. So let’s just take a quick look at two of the most environmentally impactful countries on the planet.

The US ranks 24th in the world on environmental performance overall. (Denmark was first, and Liberia was last, at 180th, if you’re curious.) China, in comparison, ranks 120th, and while that sounds dire, it’s actually improved in the last decade. (India, another major player, is 168th.)

On climate change, the US ranked 15th. China ranks 103rd. The Guardian asserts:

[The US] is currently the second-biggest contributor to the climate crisis, after China. Over time, it has put more heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere than any other nation. (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/04/us-ranks-24th-in-the-world-on-environmental-performance)

Zach Wendling, lead researcher on the research, explains why that’s so:

If you look at Denmark, they’re doing great but they’re a tiny fraction of overall carbon emissions or greenhouse gas emissions broadly. The US is one of the top five players in every greenhouse gas, so we need to do better than just OK if we’re going to generate the best practices.

Click on the link above to compare countries and categories — it’s a great resource. And the executive summary can be found here. https://epi.yale.edu/downloads/epipolicymakersummaryr9.pdf


Much more (Includes videos): https://electrek.co/2020/06/13/climate-crisis-weekly-country-environmental-index-germany-climate-plan/

June 15, 2020

Fast-growing mini-forests spring up in Europe to aid climate

Miyawaki forests are denser and said to be more biodiverse than other kinds of woods

Tiny, dense forests are springing up around Europe as part of a movement aimed at restoring biodiversity and fighting the climate crisis.

Often sited in schoolyards or alongside roads, the forests can be as small as a tennis court. They are based on the work of the Japanese botanist Akira Miyawaki, who has planted more than 1,000 such forests in Japan, Malaysia and elsewhere.

Advocates for the method say the miniature forests grow 10 times faster and become 30 times denser and 100 times more biodiverse than those planted by conventional methods. This result is achieved by planting saplings close together, three per square metre, using native varieties adapted to local conditions. A wide variety of species – ideally 30 or more – are planted to recreate the layers of a natural forest.

Scientists say such ecosystems are key to meeting climate goals, estimating that natural forests can store 40 times more carbon than single-species plantations. The Miyawaki forests are designed to regenerate land in far less time than the 70-plus years it takes a forest to recover on its own.

“This is a great thing to do,” said Eric Dinerstein, a wildlife scientist who co-authored a recent paper calling for half of the Earth’s surface to be protected or managed for nature conservation to avoid catastrophic climate change. “So this could be another aspect for suburban and urban areas, to create wildlife corridors through contiguous ribbons of mini-forest.”

The mini-forests could attract migratory songbirds, Dinerstein said. “Songbirds are made from caterpillars and adult insects, and even small pockets of forests, if planted with native species, could become a nutritious fast-food fly-in site for hungry birds.”


Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jun/13/fast-growing-mini-forests-spring-up-in-europe-to-aid-climate



A Miyawaki forest being planted on the outskirts of Paris, France. Photograph: Courtesy of Boomforest

June 15, 2020

Care-free days at theme parks giving way to virus safeguards

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Hugs from Mickey Mouse are out at Walt Disney World. So is bunching up at Six Flags to snag a front-seat roller coaster ride. But the season won’t be completely lost for thrill-seekers.

Carefree days of sharing cotton candy on crowded midways will give way this year to temperature scans at the gates, mandatory masks at many parks, hand-sanitizing stations at ride entrances and constant reminders to stay 6 feet apart.

Amusement parks of all sizes are adjusting everything from selling tickets to serving meals while trying to reassure the public and government leaders that they’re safe to visit amid the coronavirus crisis.

While a handful of small U.S. amusement parks have been open since Memorial Day weekend, most are looking to restart their seasons either later this month or by mid-July. Universal Orlando became the first of Florida’s major theme park resorts to reopen in early June. Disney’s nearby parks will wait until next month, but there won’t be any parades, firework shows or character greetings.

Disneyland in California said this past week it will welcome back visitors on July 17 if it gets government approval. Theme parks in many states have been among the last businesses allowed to reopen because of worries over crowds. Ohio’s two biggest amusement parks filed a lawsuit last week challenging the government’s authority to shut them down.


Read more: https://apnews.com/30290e9657d6ac459ea49b36ba7a73a2


FILE—In this file photo from May 23, 2020, people ride the Roller Coaster at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah. After a season break that was extended for months by COVID-19 restrictions, Utah's amusement park, Lagoon, reopened for business just in time for the Memorial Day weekend. Amusement parks of all sizes are adjusting everything from selling tickets to serving meals while trying to reassure the public and government leaders that they're safe to visit amid the coronavirus crisis and warnings against large gatherings. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)