2020-03-23: News Headlines

WSWS (2020-03-23). Coronavirus crisis in New York: As doctors warn of "our Chernobyl," state government plans Medicaid cuts. wsws.org Governor Andrew Cuomo, who has been calling for the deployment of the military, warned on Sunday that between 40 and 80 percent of the population of New York state (roughly 19.5 million people) would be infected.

news.un (2020-03-23). 'Count every drop, every drop counts': UN weather agency calls for better water data on World Meteorological Day. news.un.org Floods, extreme rainfall, droughts and melting glaciers…many of the major signs of climate change involve water. On this year's World Meteorological Day, the UN weather agency (WMO) is reinforcing the message of World Water Day, by focusing on the links between climate and water, and calling for better water-related data.

sputniknews (2020-03-23). Darkness, Not Cold, Killed Most Life on Earth 66 Million Years Ago, New Study Claims. sputniknews.com Scientists estimate that 75 percent of animal and plant species on Earth were wiped out during the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event caused by the gigantic Chicxulub asteroid that crashed into our planet. However, researchers have long debated what the processes were that resulted in the death of three quarters of the world's life.

Staff (2020-03-22). Climate Science Deniers Are Also Downplaying COVID-19 Risks. truthout.org On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO)

news.un (2020-03-22). World Water Day: Often overlooked, water resources are essential part of solution to climate change. news.un.org On World Water Day, the United Nations launched a flagship report which says that reducing both the impacts and drivers of climate change will require major shifts in the way we use and reuse the Earth's limited water resources.

Reynard Loki (2020-03-21). Coronavirus and climate change: How eco-activists can use this terrible moment to help save the planet. nationofchange.org One major lesson from the pandemic is that we can save the planet from climate change.

Jonathon R Campbell, Mayara L Bastos (2020-03-21). [Comment] No time to waste: preventing tuberculosis in children. thelancet.com Tuberculosis takes the life of one in five children developing the disease.1 Data from the pre-chemotherapy era suggest very young children are at highest risk for tuberculosis after exposure, and highly susceptible to the most severe forms of the disease.2,3 As a result, tuberculosis control efforts among children in high-burden countries are focused on those below 5 years of age.2 One of the most important efforts is provision of tuberculosis preventive therapy after tuberculosis exposure, yet only one in four children below 5 years of age who might benefit from life-saving preventive therapy will receive it.

Ahmed Abdulkareem (2020-03-20). From Cluster Bombs to Toxic Waste: Saudi Arabia is Creating the Next Fallujah in Yemen. mintpressnews.com From dumping toxic waste into the sea to littering Yemen's farms with tons of unexploded cluster bombs, Saudi Arabia is creating a legacy so toxic in Yemen that experts believe it could take a century to undo.

C.J. Atkins (2020-03-20). Coronavirus clean-up: Sanitation workers face increased risk, job loss. peoplesworld.org Wherever there is poor sanitation, disease and illness spread. That's why those who work in the waste management industry are just as much an "essential service" right now as are health care, pharmacy, grocery, and restaurant workers. Dealing with all the trash society produces is a dirty and dangerous job even in normal times; during …

Fred_F (2020-03-20). Climate crisis demands revolution in firefighting. greenleft.org.au

Staff (2020-03-16). "Something Is Wrong in America": Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor & Michael Eric Dyson Debate Sanders v Biden. democracynow.org Democratic presidential candidates Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders faced off in their first one-on-one debate Sunday night in the midst of an unprecedented national crisis, with 3,600 reported COVID-19 cases, 61 deaths so far, 33 states closing schools and mass shutdowns in major cities. The rivals clashed on how to respond to the coronavirus pandemic, Medicare for All, the climate crisis, Joe Biden's record and whether or not the U.S. needs a revolution. We play highlights from the debate and get responses from scholars Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor and Michael Eric Dyson. Taylor is assistant professor of African-America…

Staff (2020-03-12). Bernie Sanders: We Are Winning "Ideological" & "Generational" Debate, Now Need to Win "Electability" democracynow.org After a disappointing showing in Tuesday night's Democratic presidential primaries, Senator Bernie Sanders said Wednesday he will stay in the race. In his address from Burlington, Vermont, Sanders challenged his rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, to address key issues like economic inequality, healthcare access and the climate crisis. Sanders is set to debate Biden this Sunday in Arizona. "It is not just the ideological debate that our progressive movement is winning. We are winning the generational debate," Sanders said. "While Joe Biden continues to do very well with older Americans, especially those peopl…

Lawrence Wittner (2020-03-02). Could the climate crisis be "The Good News of Damnation"? zcomm.org There really is no other solution to the onrushing climate catastrophe than for people and nations to forget their tribal animosities and start behaving as part of a world society…

CounterSpin (2020-02-21). Paul Paz y Miño, Saqib Bhatti & Beverly Bell on Environmental Justice & Cross-National Solidarity. fair.org There will only be an increasing number of frontline struggles between extractive, climate-disrupting industry and those willing to stand up to it. Corporate media's inadequate attention, and unwillingness to truly call out the moneyed interests causing present and future harms, make them more often part of the problem than the solution.

Elizabeth Greig, Barth A. Green, Henri R. Ford, Didi Bertrand Farmer, Krista Marie Nottage, Zelde Espinel, James M. Shultz (2020-02-06). [Commentary] Extreme population exposure: Hurricane Dorian medical response in Great Abaco, Bahamas. thelancet.com Hurricane Dorian's ensemble of extreme winds, wave action, and pelting rains laid waste to exquisitely vulnerable human settlements throughout the Abaco islands in northwest Bahamas. Dorian, the strongest hurricane ever to impact the Bahamas, pulled a towering storm surge onshore. Combined with 20 inches of rain, vast expanses of Abaco islands were submerged. The system's forward movement slowed to near standstill, creating one of the longest-duration population exposures to a hurricane in history [1].

Jon Rainwater (2019-11-07). Take Action — Some actual, SANE legislation. peaceaction.org Trump has plans to spend nearly $2 TRILLION over the next 30 years on unneeded and unnecessary nuclear weapons and delivery systems. This makes no sense. This is insane. That's nearly $100 million wasted every day for thirty years on weapons we are supposed to be getting rid of. To put that amount in perspective, …