Hi everybody!
This is the rest of the post I started yesterday, May 22. The post was too long for me to write in one day, so I did not include the Americas and Africa sections. These segments will be published below, as well as - per a subscriber’s request - a section on the American baby formula shortage & response.
Enjoy!
Americas
The Perfect Storms
This past few days, Canada has been hit by a series of terrible storms in the two most populous provinces. And these storms aren’t your everyday, picnic-canceled style rain showers with a strong breeze. These are massive storms, the kind that surpass 80 miles per hour and destroy electricity lines. And, while this leaves us with funny videos of trampolines zooming down the street, these storms have left a death toll. As of May 22, 8 people have died from storm-related causes.
A few days ago, the largest electrical company in Canada (yes, they have more than one) reported that, in its reach alone, 200,000+ customers are still in the dark, and they’re already assisted over 300,000 customers! Adding shortages reported by other companies, the total number of houses in the dark numbers half a million.
Flooding in Brazil
Seems that the climate’s really doubling down in the Americas, as our next story is yet another tale of Mother Nature’s fury.
In Brazil, massive floods have become the yearly occurrence. This Monday, one of Brazil’s prime rivers, the Negro River, reached 96 feet today, only slightly below last year’s record. This level puts it among the largest floods of the decade. These floods pose a great danger for riverside communities, filling Amazon villages with water that is sometimes waist deep. The Amazon soil has long been known for its fertility, but oil palm plants aren’t much use when they’re three feet underwater. This endangers the Amazon farming industry, which, though deplorable for its affects on the precious Amazon ecosystem, is an important economic industry for the workers and consumers. And it’s not like these floods come and go, like one might expect. Last year, water levels on the Negro stayed about 95 feet for 90 days.
That’s a lot of swimming.
Africa
Violence Across the Board
This story does not focus on a specific region of Africa, and instead is a review of a general topic across the continent.
And that topic is not a pleasant one.
As the war in Ukraine rages, all eyes have been on the heroic plight of the Ukrainian people. On nearly every major news source, something near the top of the front page is about Ukraine. While I am not trying to detract from their heroism - indeed, their bravery against a far larger Russian foe is incredible - but the fact is that the coverage of the war has decreased international focus on other vitally important stories.
One of those is African terrorism, which has spread across the continent like a rash.
I invite you to open up your favorite online magazine, then look for the “Africa” section. Then look for any articles that describe terrorism on the continent. In my case, just from looking at the top 8 articles, I found at least four. Every week, it seems that more horrific tales emerge: Somalia, torn apart by terrorists with some connection to the orchestrators of 9/11 (see May 18); in Mali, an Italian couple and their son were kidnapped; a missing Nigerian lawmaker was found decapitated (don’t look up that word, I implore you); in Burkina Faso, climate action has been halted in part by terrorism (see below).
These have all been published within the last week, and that’s only from the front Africa page of three news outlets.
To learn more about this massive crisis, I encourage you to explore other news sources. However, I must warn you, it won’t be pretty.
Guns & Politics vs. Trees &… Trees.
Climate change is a very legitimate concern. That much has been proven and agreed on by scientists, governments, and regular people around the world. But how to act upon it, now that’s a different story. For now, it seems that many countries are simply waiting for someone else to make the first move.
But if everyone waits for everyone else, who’s going to make the first move?
That would be central Africa.
For over a decade, multiple countries in central Africa have been making efforts to create the “Great Green Wall,” a bar of greenery that cuts the continent in half. Its purpose is to increase animal diversity in the region, and combat climate change and the rapid “desertification” of Africa. The initiative also has served to promote peace, women empowerment, and many other just causes. In 15 years, 9.9 million acres of land have been reforested.
That may seem like a sizable sum, but it is only 4% of the total goal. That’s a lot of trees.
Besides the obvious fact that the project is massive and time-consuming, other variables have threatened the Great Green Belt initiative. The Green Belt coordinator in Burkina Faso sums it up nicely, saying that political instability and security issues are impeding the project’s progress. This is no surprise for any African country; thanks to a variety of factors, Africa is rife with civil unrest and violent strife.
I gotta say, I hope they finish the Great Green Belt, because I’d like to visit someday.
Baby Formula Shortage - Special Report
This section does not fit in either of the sections I had initially planned to write, but I am publishing this anyhow due to a subscriber’s request.
Cronobacter is a bacterium that is well known for its lethalness. In infants, it is reported to cause seizures, meningitis, and other deadly illnesses. When it comes to kids under a year old, you do not mess around with cronobacter.
And that is the very thing found in a baby formula factory.
The discovery immediately resulted in a mass recall of the company - Abbott Laboratories - and the closing of the factory where the bacteria was discovered. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said that 17000 children were reliant on that formula, and without it, they are in destress. This is one of the worst baby formula shortages in decades. To combat the problem, shipments of baby formula are coming in from Europe. The matter is important enough to spur Vilsack to greet the first shipment’s arrival personally.
And yes, I am aware that this may seem like a ridiculous topic to some, but it is absolutely pivotal for those 17000 hungry kids, who need those nutrients to become healthy children.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t find deadly bacteria particularly tasty.
Sources
Congrats You’ve finished reading another one of my posts! I hope you learned something, and continue to do so!
Stay tuned!
Sources for this post include various articles by Reuters, The New York Times, Associated Press, National Geographic, and the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
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Hi Reed, would love to hear your take on the homeless crisis in the US. We have it here in San Diego, of course, great weather, giving politicians and churches. But we were so surprised at the situation in Seattle in our last visit, thinking it would be far less due to the weather. Is there really an answer? Thanks…
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