Marine and other scientists are urging global leaders to fast-track an international treaty to protect the world’s high seas, the vast areas of ocean that fall outside national borders, and are increasingly at risk of environmental damage.
The Biden administration on Thursday announced that the U.S. will donate 25 million surplus doses of COVID-19 vaccines to developing countries, pledging to donate a total of 80 million doses by July. Economist Jeffrey Sachs says rich countries have enough production capacity to speed up vaccine distribution and immunize the whole world within the next year. “There’s massive supply, but there’s no plan for allocation,” he says. We also speak with South African health justice activist Fatima Hassan, who says the global vaccine imbalance comes down to political will. “Even now countries are still sitting around a table and talking and having long conversations instead of figuring out an urgent way to ramp up manufacturing, scale up production and get as many doses to as many people as possible all over the world.”
As Democrats and Republicans in Washington continue to negotiate over an infrastructure bill, President Biden is reportedly considering dropping his demand to roll back the 2017 Trump tax cuts — which primarily benefited corporations and the richest people in the country — in order to gain support for infrastructure spending of at least $1 trillion. Biden is offering to keep Trump’s tax cuts and shrink the size of his infrastructure proposal in exchange for a minimum 15% corporate tax rate for all companies. Economist Jeffrey Sachs says a capitulation on the Trump tax cuts would be a huge mistake for the Biden administration. “The corporations have had an unbelievable run of unjust and unaffordable tax cuts,” he says.
This presentation explored the value of forests, tensions associated with large-scale solar installations, and tools for town officials and citizens to make wise planning decisions for their communities. Event panelists are state and regional experts from the Woodwell Climate Research Center, Mass Audubon and the Cape Cod Commission and include: • Wayne Walker, Ph.D., Carbon Program Director and Associate Scientist at Woodwell Climate Research Center, an ecologist and remote sensing specialist with expertise in the workings of forests and how carbon cycle science translates into climate solutions • E. Heidi Ricci, M.S., Director of Policy and Advocacy at Mass Audubon, with expertise in environmental policy and public engagement and assisting communities in building resilience through nature-based solutions and low-impact development • Jessica Rempel, M.S., Natural Resources Analysts for the Cape Cod Commission, specializing in solar siting and open space, wetland, and plant and wildlife habitat planning and protection
Welcome to Transition Studies. To prosper for very much longer on the changing Earth humankind will need to move beyond its current fossil-fueled civilization toward one that is sustained on recycled materials and renewable energy. This is not a trivial shift. It will require a major transition in all aspects of our lives.
This weblog explores the transition to a sustainable future on our finite planet. It provides links to current news, key documents from government sources and non-governmental organizations, as well as video documentaries about climate change, environmental ethics and environmental justice concerns.
The links are listed here to be used in whatever manner they may be helpful in public information campaigns, course preparation, teaching, letter-writing, lectures, class presentations, policy discussions, article writing, civic or Congressional hearings and citizen action campaigns, etc. For further information on this blog see: About this weblog. and How to use this weblog.
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Transition Studies 