#climate change

[politijohn]

Source

[batboyblog]

Things the Biden-Harris Administration Did This Week #34

Sep 13-20 2024.

President Biden announced $1.3 billion in new funding for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The Biden-Harris Administration has already invested a record breaking $17 billion in HBCUs since the President took office. HBCUs represent an important engine for making black professionals. 40% of all Black engineers, 50% of all Black teachers, 70% of all Black doctors and dentists, 80% of all Black judges, and the first black Vice-President, Kamala Harris, are HBCU graduates. HBCUs have also been proven to be far better at boosting the long term economic prospects of graduates than non-HBCU colleges. The bulk of the new funding will go directly to supporting students and helping them pay for college.

The Department of Transportation celebrated 60,000 infrastructure projects funding by the Biden-Harris Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This landmark is a part of the Biden-Harris team's effort to address America's long neglected infrastructure. From major multi-state projects to small town railway crossings every project was lead by a local community in need not a make-work project dreamed up in Washington

The Department of Energy announced over 3 billion dollars to support the battery sector. The 25 projects across 14 states will help support over 12,000 jobs. Advanced battery technology is key to the shift to a carbon energy free economy. The move is meant to not only boost battery production but also shift it away from China and toward America.

Maine and Rhode Island both launched a partnership with the federal government to help save low income families money on their utility bills. The program offers low and moderate income households aid in updating wiring, switching to energy efficient appliances, and installing heat pumps.

The EPA announced $156 million to help bring solar power to low-income New Mexico residents. This is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s "Solar for All" project aimed at helping low-income people afford the switch over to solar power. It's expected that 21,750 low-income households in New Mexico will benefit from the money. New Mexicans can expect to save over the next 20 years $311 million in energy costs.

The Department of The Interior announced the first ever leases for wind power in the Gulf of Maine. The leases for 8 areas off the coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine will be sold in late October. The Department believes that once developed the wind power from these leases could produce 13 gigawatts of clean offshore wind energy, enough to power 4.5 million homes. When added to the 15 gigawatts already approved by the Biden-Harris team it brings America close to Biden's 30 gigawatts of clean offshore wind power by 2030.

The Senate approved the appointment of Kevin Ritz to the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, which covers Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee. The Senate also approved Mary Kay Costello and Michelle Williams Court to district court judgeships in Pennsylvania and California respectively. Costello is the 12th LGBT judge appointed by President Biden, making him the President to appoint the most LGBT people to the federal bench more than during Obama's 8 years. President Biden has also appointed more black women, such as Judge Court, to the bench than any other President. Judge Court also represents President Biden's move to appoint civil rights attorneys to the bench, Court worked for the ACLU in the mid-90s and was a civil rights expect at HUD in the early 2000s. This brings the total number of judges appointed by Biden to 212.

[trees-for-aidan]

THURS

SEPT. 19th

2024

7:25AM

🌿 A Late Birthday Tribute to Aidan Gallagher & His Father: Help Plant a Tree for Free 🌿

As a late birthday gift to Aidan Gallagher and his father, I invite you to join me in honoring them by planting a tree for free. 🌱 It would mean the world to me, and I’m sure it would to him as well, knowing who he is and what he stands for. Aidan has been doing incredible work for the planet, and if you care about the Earth—even just a little—this is a simple way to help.

In a cosmic sense, how can we expect kindness for ourselves if we don’t extend it to each other, or to the Earth? The planet needs us to show up for it, just as much as we need it to show up for us. So please, pledge to plant a tree in honor of Aidan and his father. 🌍💚

This cause is especially important to me because, when I think of the state of the world, sometimes it’s hard to find hope. But knowing people like Aidan are out there fighting for the future gives me a reason to keep believing. Sure, he’s just one person making a dent, but with enough support, that dent can become a full-on collision of change. 🌱✨ I believe in what he’s doing, and one day, I know the world will be greener because of him.

Aidan is incredibly passionate, well-spoken, and intelligent. If you’ve ever heard him speak, you know he talks with a sense of certainty and security, even if he doesn’t realize it himself. It’s comforting. He genuinely cares about the future of the planet, and his actions show it. He’s not just an entertainer, but someone who truly gives a damn about whether we live or die—and whether the planet lives or dies. That’s why I admire him.

I don’t have to do any of this, but I’m doing it because I see his vision. 🌍 I believe in it. I admire the work he’s doing. If we don’t take action now, who will? Every moment counts, and we can make a difference, right here, right now. We can live healthier lives that help both our bodies and the planet.

So here’s my pledge to Aidan’s mission. I may be new to his family, but I’m proud to be part of a community that stands behind someone who genuinely cares about the future of this Earth. It’s rare to find someone so mindful, so aware of their impact, and so committed to making real change. 🌿

Let’s help make that change. Let’s plant a tree for Aidan. 🌳

#PlantForAidan #AidansFamily #EarthFirst #GreenerFuture #PlantATree #AidanGallagher #EcoWarrior #BirthdayTribute #SustainableLiving

[wachinyeya]

Birds Sing Anew After Residents of New Orleans Ninth Ward Restore 40-Acre Wetland to Historic Glory https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/birds-sing-anew-from-within-40-acre-wetland-restored-by-residents-of-n-orleans-historic-lower-ninth/

The Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans has recently witnessed an incredible eco-renaissance following decades of damage and neglect.

Led by a local community development group, a 40-acre wetlands park has been restored to glories past with hundreds of local trees that attract over a hundred species of birds, plus joggers, picnickers, and nature lovers besides.

The story begins with Rashida Ferdinand, founder of Sankofa Community Development Corporation (CDC). Growing up in this historic part of New Orleans, where Black homeownership thrived, where Fats Domino was born, and where locals routinely went out into the wetlands to catch fish and crustaceans, she watched as it suffered from years of neglect.

Poor drainage, ruined roads, illegal trash dumping, and unmitigated damage from hurricanes slowly wasted the wetland away until it was a derelict eyesore.

In the name of restoring this wild heritage indicative of the culture in the Lower Ninth, and in order to protect her communities from flooding, Ferdinand founded the Sankofa CDC, and in 2014 entered into an agreement with the City of New Orleans for the restoration of Sankofa—a 40-acre section of neglected wetlands in the heart of the Lower Ninth.

The loss of Sankofa’s potential to dampen flooding from storms meant that over the years dozens of houses and properties were flooded and damaged beyond the ability of the inhabitants to recover. Forced out by a combination of nature’s fury and government failure, the cultural heritage of the community was receding along with the floodwaters.

Ferdinand knew that restoring natural flood barriers like Sankofa was key to protecting her community.

“Hurricane protection is a major concern in the community, but there’s a lack of trust in the infrastructure systems that are supposed to protect us,” Ferdinand told the Audubon Society.

Today, Sankofa Wetlands Park is a sight to behold. Hiking trails snake through a smattering of ponds and creeks, where bald cypresses and water tupelo trees continue to grow and cling to the ground even during storms. Picnic benches have appeared, wheelchair-accessible trails connect sections of the park to parts of the Lower Ninth, and local businesses are seeing more visitors.

Visiting birders have recorded sightings of over 100 species of songbirds, ducks, near-shore waders of all kinds, egrets, and herons, and the park also acts as a home and refuge for otters, beavers, and a variety of amphibians and reptiles.

It needed a lot of work though. Thousands of invasive tallow trees had to be uprooted. 27,000 cubic meters of illegally dumped trash compacted into the dirt had to be removed. A 60-year-old canal dug by the US Army Corps of Engineers had to be disconnected, and all new native flora had to be planted by hand.

Audubon says that Ferdinand routinely can’t believe her eyes when she looks at the transformation of Sankofa into its current state.

“Seeing butterflies, birds, and other pollinators in the park is a sign of a healthy ecosystem,” she says. “All we had to do was create the right conditions.”

Slated for official completion in 2025 with an outdoor amphitheater, interpretive signage, and additional trails, Ferdinand and the CDC have their eyes set on an even larger area of wetlands to the north of Sankofa.

Along the way, Ferdinand and the CDC attracted many helping hands, and entered into many partnerships, But the catalyst for change arose from the spirit and determination of one woman in the right place at the right time, for the benefit of hundreds in this historic heart of a historic city.

[soberscientistlife]

[markfaustus]

[probablyasocialecologist]

Activists and scientists have been warning for years that schemes to offset carbon emissions by planting trees or other crops would lead to a surge in land grabbing, especially in the global South. These warnings are now proving true. GRAIN combed through the various registries of carbon offset projects to try and get a better sense of this new land grab and how it is unfolding. We identified 279 large-scale tree and crop planting projects for carbon credits that corporations have initiated since 2016 in the global South. They cover over 9.1 million hectares of land -- an area roughly the size of Portugal. The deals add up to a massive new form of land grabbing that will only increase conflicts and pressures over land that are still simmering from the last global land grab spree that erupted in 2007-8 in the wake of global food and financial crises. They also signify that new sources of money are now flowing into the coffers of companies specialised in taking lands from communities in the South to enrich and serve corporations, mainly in the North. To date, 52 countries in the global South have been targeted by these projects. Half the projects are in just four countries: China, India, Brazil and Colombia, which are developing their own industries of carbon project developers. But projects in these countries account for less than a third of the total land area involved. The most affected region, in terms of land area, is Africa, with projects covering over 5.2 million hectares. Many of the projects involve land deals to set up giant eucalyptus, acacia or bamboo plantations. Typically, these are pasture lands or savannahs that were used until now by local communities for grazing livestock or growing food.

17 September 2024

[sniperct]

So thoughts that spun out of that other post.

When driving at night I sometimes have this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

I grew up in the desert, and spent a lot of time going camping and fishing to places 1, 2, 3 hours away.

20-30 years ago, there were so many flying insects in the headlights on those long, lonely highways that it would look like a star trek starship at warp, tens of thousands of stars streaking by. It was beautiful, and humbling.

You could buy something to stick on the hood of the car to reduce insects hitting the windshield. On a roadtrip you had to stop every other town to wipe your windshield, sometimes. In the DESERT.

I can't remember the last time I thought such a device was needed, the last time I took a long trip and had to stop to wipe the windshield down. I cannot remember the last time I've even seen anything like that. Not in the past 10-15 years.

I live in a rural, heavily forested area. Before the work from home era I would drive home 5 nights a week through state park forests, along rivers and lakes. Always a gorgeous view on the way into work. On the way home, absent were those streaks of light in the headlights I have such vivid memories of.

The bugs out in the garden and the trees around me are nowhere near as prevalent as they used to be. Even at my old house in Las Vegas, I remember so many moths and butterflies, beetles and crawling insects. Before we moved in 2017, we were lucky to see even one butterfly every once in awhile.

The fact that driving at night in the spring in a rural, forested area does not make you feel like you're at warp terrifies me.

Insect populations plummeting so heavily so quickly should scare us all.

[exposed-nerve-ending]

i feel like the smiling friends have vastly differing opinions on climate change. for example:

charlie- agrees that it’s real but doesn’t think it’s a huge deal

pim- thinks everyone has to do their part by only using metal straws

allan- thinks pim and charlie are both idiots; obviously it’s the fault of large corporations

glep- pro climate change

[itamicio05]

Hi everyone!

Today Vincent sleep very much to skip an horrible tempest, unfortunately in my country and especialy my region we're struggling with too much rain and this night our river's city the Savio will esonde, a city near mine Forlì is being evacuated, others city like Faenza are now under water. Unfortunately this was even happened the last year ago, my city was under water, luckly not my house, i live in perifery, but i'm worry for my school friends. This is a consequens of climate change and in this day i will help the people and their pets who are without home now. I'm tsaking about that cause this blog give me voice, and I have to speak about this emergency, last year my city lost too much, too much people, too much pets and too much house were destroied. If we don't do somenthig now one day the will be nothing to put under river water, cause it will not be a city more.

For now is everything, see you later guys!

[furrylibrarian]

Thinking about a conversation I had a couple weeks ago between me, my mom, and my two brothers.

I brought how much I hated that last winter there was basically no snow until January, because it generally made the month sad and ugly. My youngest brother agreed with me, and my mom and other brother said they actually preferred winter that way because the roads were safer. And like, they’re not wrong, but that’s not the point. The point is that the climate has been so profoundly damaged that entire seasons have gotten fucked up. I said as much, and they seemed to concede that I wasn’t wrong.

Nothing really got accomplished but the exchange stuck with me.

[animentality]

[soberscientistlife]

[markfaustus]

[probablyasocialecologist]

The Blue Carbon Mapping Project, completed by the Scottish Association for Marine Science on behalf of World Wildlife Fund, The Wildlife Trusts and the RSPB, gives the UK an opportunity to show the rest of the world just how important blue carbon is and why we need to protect it. Helping nature to recover on land and at sea is fundamental for tackling climate change, alongside reductions in emissions. My colleagues and I reviewed and collated existing data about blue carbon habitats and carbon in seabed sediment to create new estimates of the size of and rates of accumulation in the carbon stores in UK seas. We found that seabed sediments are the largest blue carbon store, holding an estimated 244 million tonnes of organic carbon. Most (98.3%) of this carbon is stored within the top 10cm of these sediments. Coastal vegetated habitats, although covering only 1% of the UK’s marine area, contribute significantly to carbon storage, accounting for 1.7% of the UK seas’ total organic carbon stores. Salt marshes are the largest of these, containing 60% of the organic carbon in coastal vegetated habitats. Mostly found in England and Wales, salt marshes are powerful carbon sinks due to the rich, organic soils they contain. Seagrass beds, though less extensive, also play a critical role, but our report calls for improved mapping to better understand their distribution and capacity. When unharmed, marine habitats naturally absorb carbon and prevent it being released into the atmosphere. The carbon is primarily absorbed by phytoplankton that drift to the bottom of the sea when they die and are added to seabed sediments. Providing they are left undisturbed, these sediments can continue to absorb carbon for hundreds, if not thousands of years.

[muffinlevelchicanery]