On Jobs And Climate, Attacking The Problem At Its Corps

(New York Times Co via Getty Images)

Great ideas never go out of style, although they might need tweaking. President Roosevelt had a great idea in 1933 when he created the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) --- his plan to lift the country out of the Great Depression by tackling environmental emergencies and massive unemployment simultaneously. In its nine-year existence, Roosevelt’s all-volunteer "Tree Army" put three million jobless Americans to work planting more than 3 billion trees, paving 125,000 miles of roadways, erecting 3,000 fire lookouts, and spending six million workdays fighting forest fires. The CCC's work produced trails and structures dotting Grand Canyon National Park and the Pacific Crest Trail that are beloved to this day.

In 2021, President Biden must deal with a climate now in crisis, the worst economic downturn since the depression, and a former administration's deliberate environmental assault. Thus, in his recent climate policy spree, Biden announced the establishment of a "Civilian Climate Corps Initiative," this time with well-paying conservation jobs. The president's omnibus executive order gives the heads of Interior, Agriculture, and other departments 90 days to present their plan to "mobilize the next generation of conservation and resilience workers."

Mary Ellen Sprenkel leads the National Association of Service and Conservation Corps, a loose association of some 135 corps organizations across America that already provides young adults and veterans with work on public lands and in rural and urban communities. “We’re really excited that the Biden administration is taking this on,” Sprenkel says. "Some of our programs have quite a bit of experience in doing this, and hopefully we’ll be called upon to help develop and implement the initiative."

Biden envisions projects far beyond just tree-planting, including working to mitigate wildfire risks, protecting watershed health, and improving outdoor recreation access. Sprenkel would add more activities at the community level as well, like urban agriculture projects and work retrofitting buildings to be more energy-efficient. And as she notes, the federal government owns and manages thousands of buildings that with solar or wind power installations could eventually become sources of renewable energy generation.

Roosevelt's CCC wasn't perfect; its legacy is marred by racism and sexism. Only young men could enlist, and camps originally integrated in 1933 were fully segregated two years later. For this reason, National Wildlife Federation President Collin O’Mara says the authorizing legislation and the agencies must make diversity "a top, non-negotiable priority," so that the corps represents "the full diversity of the country." (Guardian)

Fossil Fuel Companies Present: A Party For The End Of The World

A new report from the Natural Resource Governance Institute think tank says that over the next decade, the world’s state-owned fossil fuel companies — which produce some two-thirds of the world’s oil and gas, own about 90% of reserves, and can operate without oversight — plan to invest about $1.9 trillion in projects that would destroy any prospect of meeting the Paris agreement climate goals.
The report’s lead author wrote: “A lot of the oil industry wants one last party, and they are going to invest trillions. We are worried about how long that party will continue. If the energy transition [away from fossil fuels and into clean energy] is to be fast enough to meet the Paris agreement, the party needs to be over very quickly.”
If the world can stick to its promises to hold global warming to less than 2C (3.6F) above pre-industrial levels, then a large proportion of these fossil fuel company investments will likely become stranded assets, with at least a $400 billion loss.
The report, entitled “Risky Bet: National Oil Companies in the Energy Transition,” states its point unequivocally: “Either the world does what’s necessary to limit global warming, or national oil companies can profit from these investments. Both are not possible.” (Guardian)

Big Tobacco Rejoices That It’s No Longer #1 Killer

According to a new study published in the journal Environmental Research, air pollution caused by the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil was responsible for 8.7 million deaths in 2018 — 20% of all deaths worldwide that year. Pollution emitted from power plants, homes, and vehicles caused over 10% of deaths in Europe and the US, while in eastern Asia the number was over 30%.
The death toll exceeds the combined number of people who die globally each year from smoking tobacco plus those who die of malaria. Pervasive air pollution from burning fossil fuels has been scientifically linked to cases of heart disease, respiratory ailments, even the loss of eyesight.
Without fossil fuel emissions, the average life expectancy of the world’s population would increase by more than a year, while global economic and health costs would fall by about $2.9 trillion. Another expert in air pollution and health said the death toll outlined in the study may even be an underestimation of the true picture. (Guardian)

Additional World News

Limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius will require far-reaching emissions cuts in coming years (WaPo, $)
China Blocks Clubhouse App After Brief Flowering of Debate (NYT, $)
North Korea upgraded nuclear missile program in 2020, says UN diplomat (Guardian)
The Queen has more power over British law than we ever thought (Guardian). She loves to reign on lawmakers’ parades.
Why Most Pakistanis Can’t See The Film Pakistan Is Submitting For An Oscar Nod (NPR)
A Surprise in Africa: Air Pollution Falls as Economies Rise (NYT, $). Finally, a good surprise!
With Mission to China, W.H.O. Tries to Rehabilitate Its Image (NYT, $)
A Massacre in a Forest Becomes a Test of Poland’s Pushback on Wartime Blame (NYT, $)
Myanmar’s Coup Will Be ‘Painful’ For Already Struggling Economy, Analysts Warn (NPR)
Squawking bird blows the whistle on fake video trying to tilt Ecuador election (Guardian)
‘Valuable treasure’: Gaza turns to quail as fishing goes belly up (Al Jazeera)
Inside Nigeria’s illegal backstreet abortion clinics (Al Jazeera)
Will American Ideas Tear France Apart? Some Think So. (NYT, $). They stole our revolution idea 230 years ago — they had it coming.

Covid-19

Covid-19’s economic toll in Colombia, Kenya, and developing world: Poverty and hunger (Vox)
Are new COVID vaccines needed? ‘Jury’s out’ Oxford scientist says (Al Jazeera). Let’s hope there’s not a mistrial.
Russia, China expanding Middle East sway with COVID-19 vaccines (Al Jazeera)

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Around The Country In 80 Lawsuits

(Win McNamee via Getty Images)

The Senate's second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, whom House Democrats charged with inciting the January 6th Capitol insurrection, began Tuesday at 1:00 pm ET. The trial will likely extend through the weekend.
A conviction requires a two-thirds vote of the senators, meaning Democrats would need 17 Republicans to cross over and vote with them. Since that's highly doubtful, it's expected that Trump will be acquitted.
Meanwhile, criminal and civil investigations into his businesses are accelerating in New York state. Manhattan prosecutors probing Trump’s real-estate business for possible insurance and tax fraud have stepped up witness interviews in recent months and hired forensic accountants.
A separate state attorney general’s civil probe into whether the business falsely reported property values got a boost on January 29th, when a New York Supreme Court judge ordered the Trump Organization to turn over documents.
A Supreme Court decision is expected this month on whether the Manhattan district attorney can obtain eight years of Trump’s tax records and other financial information from his accounting firm, Mazars. (WaPo, $; Reuters)

Facebook Backs The Vax

A year into the pandemic, Facebook has finally decided to ban all misinformation about vaccines posted on its platform, not just the ones for Covid-19. Posts claiming that vaccines cause autism, or that measles can’t kill people, are no longer allowed on Facebook.
At the same time, the company will encourage Americans to get a Covid-19 vaccination, and will direct people to information about when it’s their turn and how to find an available dose. Critics say like other enforcement actions Facebook has taken --- on everything from the right-wing anti-Semitic QAnon conspiracy theory to incitements of violence posted by Donald Trump --- this move is a classic case of the company acting too little, too late.
The head of the disinformation team for nonprofit Avaaz said: "For over a year Facebook has sat at the epicenter of the misinformation crisis that has been making this pandemic worse, so the damage has already been done." At this point, he said, much more needs to be done to address users who have already seen vaccine misinformation. (Vox)

Additional USA News

Trump impeachment: Fact-checking the Senate trial (BBC)
Here's What You Need To Know About The Senate Impeachment Trial (NPR)
'A death sentence': US prisons could receive Covid vaccines last despite being hotspots (Guardian)
Biden doesn’t think the $15 minimum wage will make it into his stimulus bill (Vox)
‘Dangerous Stuff’: Hackers Tried to Poison Water Supply of Florida Town (NYT, $). The culprits denied responsibility, but they were lye-ing.
Fox Files Motion to Dismiss Smartmatic’s $2.7 Billion Defamation Suit (NYT, $)
Colleges Vowed a Safer Spring. Then Students, and Variants, Arrived. (NYT, $). Instead of a Safer Spring, we got a Silent Spring.
How Biden United a Fractious Party Under One Tent (NYT, $). Even more impressive, it's only a four-person camping tent.
Justice Dept. to Keep Special Counsel Investigating Russia Inquiry (NYT, $)
Georgia opens investigation into Trump effort to overturn election results (Guardian)
The debate over who deserves a stimulus check, explained (Vox). You might find this policy analysis quite stimulating.
'The Game Is Rigged': How Fury Over The Great Recession Fueled The Reddit Trade (NPR)
Teachers In Maine Try To Connect With Students Struggling With Remote Learning (NPR). Did teachers try unplugging and plugging them back in again?
Outcry as more than 20 babies and children deported by US to Haiti (Guardian)

In The Fight For Meat Alternatives, There’s A Lot At Steak

Move over plant-based hamburger patties and make room for 3-D printed ribeyes. On Tuesday an Israeli company, Aleph Farms, unveiled the first lab-grown steak made by using 3-D bioprinting technology and animal cells.
Alternative protein products have soared in popularity during the pandemic. A survey of more than 1,000 US adults showed that 39% of American consumers have considered going vegetarian or vegan since the pandemic began. The main reasons given are health concerns, climate change, and animal welfare.
The future is expected to bring a robust appetite for this so-called "cultivated meat," and food companies are lining up to jump on the bandwagon.
San Diego-based BlueNalu announced its intent to bring cell-based seafood products to market in the second half of this year; Israel-based Future Meat Technologies and Dutch companies Meatable and Mosa Meat plan to have cultivated meat products in the market by 2022. Each company has proprietary methods of growing meat tissues from punch biopsies from live or slaughtered animals.
Aleph Farms' new meat-making process, developed with research partners at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, prints living cells that are incubated on a plant-based matrix to grow, differentiate, and interact to achieve the texture and qualities of real steak. The matrix has a system similar to an animal’s vascular system, which allows cells to mature and nutrients to move across thicker tissue, resulting in a steak with a similar shape and structure to traditional cow tissue before and during cooking.
Fortunately, potatoes are already plants, so no technology needed to create a loaded one to accompany that 3-D printed ribeye. (WaPo, $)

Additional Reads

Where Do Vaccine Doses Go, and Who Gets Them? The Algorithms Decide (NYT, $)
Video dating is all over apps like Tinder and Hinge. It's not new. (Vox)
Bitcoin tops $48,000 after Tesla discloses it bought $1.5 billion worth. (NYT, $)
The Case For Semicolons (NYT, $). “If Miss Moore married Josh; Demi Brolin. A comma and a f***ing dot; semicolon” -- Lonely Island.
Brazilian butt lift: behind the world's most dangerous cosmetic surgery (Guardian)
Achoo! Climate Change Lengthening Pollen Season in U.S., Study Shows (NYT, $)
The Dalai Lama's Gentle, Surprising Secret to Happiness (Atlantic). That’s nice, but have you tried fuzzy socks and ice cream?
‘This land feeds our souls’: the battle to save the Rockies from big coal (Guardian)
Jeff Bezos is worth $193 billion — here's how he can spend it (Verge). Just think of what he could do with 1,932 diamond-encrusted skulls.
How Black Communities Shaped The Internet (Verge)
How This Teeny-Tiny Sea Critter Punches Like Mike Tyson (Wired). Watch out, it bites ears too.
Section 230 turns 25 today, and it’s never been more important (Verge)

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