EcoWatch

Time 2020-07-19 18:04:30

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This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience while browsing it. By clicking 'Got It' you're accepting these terms. The best of EcoWatch, right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter! Sign Up Two medical workers wearing PPE are seen changing their gloves at a free coronavirus testing location outside Washington Square Parkas the city soon moves into Phase 4 of re-opening following restrictions imposed to curb the coronavirus pandemic on July 18 in New York City.. Alexi Rosenfeld / Getty Images By Jake JohnsonPresident Donald Trump claimed in a newly aired Fox News interview Sunday that the United States is the "envy of the world" when it comes to Covid-19 testing capacity, a boast that came as state and local leaders continue to raise alarm about widespread test shortages and delays as coronavirus infections surge nationwide. p Pressed by Fox News Chris Wallace on rising Covid-19 infections, shortages of testing kits and personal protective equipment for frontline workers, and rapidly dwindling hospital capacity, Trump — who is a href= https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/18/should-tell-you-all-you-need-know-trump-attempting-block-billions-new-funding-covid target= _blank attempting to block /a billions of dollars in new funds for testing and contact tracing — said he takes responsibility for how the U.S. has handled the pandemic but added that some governors have done poorly. /p p They re supposed to have supplies ... I supplied everybody, the president said. Now we have somewhat of a surge in certain areas. In other areas we re doing great. But we have a surge in certain areas. But you don t hear people complaining about ventilators, we ve got all the ventilators we could use, we re supplying them to other countries. /p p We have more tests by far than any country in the world, Trump said. When Wallace pointed out that the Covid-19 positivity rate is rising sharply even as more tests are conducted, Trump said dismissively: Many of those cases are young people that would heal in a day. They have the sniffles and we put it down as a test. /p p Cases are up because we have the best testing in the world, Trump said, once again a href= https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2020/06/22/no-more-testing-doesnt-explain-rise-covid-19-cases-us/ target= _blank falsely blaming /a the increase in testing for the growing number of positive coronavirus cases in the U.S., which now leads the world in confirmed infections. No country has ever done what we ve done in terms of testing. We are the envy of the world. /p p Watch: /p div id= e4bf9 "https://www.ecowatch.com/us-coronavirus-death-toll-2646357716.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">U.S. COVID-19 Death Toll Passes 130,000 Amid Surge in Cases ... Tulsa Health Official Links Surge in COVID-19 Cases to Trump Rally ... Related Articles Around the Web COVID-19 Surge | CDC The Penguin suspicious on the shore looking at the camera, on January 3 in King George Island, Antarctica. Alessandro Dahan / Getty Images By Shaun Brooks and Julia Jabour Australia wants to build a 2.7-kilometre concrete runway in Antarctica, the world's biggest natural reserve. The plan, if approved, would have the largest footprint of any project in the continent's history. The runway is part of an aerodrome to be constructed near Davis Station, one of Australia's three permanent bases in Antarctica. It would be the first concrete runway on the continent. The plan is subject to federal environmental approval. It coincides with a href= https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-2506-3 target= _blank new research /a published this week showing Antarctica s wild places need better protection. Human activity across Antarctica has been extensive in the past 200 years – particularly in the coastal, ice-free areas where most biodiversity is found. p The area around Davis Station is possibly Antarctica s a href= https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00025586 target= _blank most significant /a coastal, ice-free area. It features a href= http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/_entity/annotation/174a3e6b-4f42-ea11-b0a8-00505684324c/a71d58ad-4cba-48b6-8dab-f3091fc31cd5?t=1594857491287 target= _blank unique lakes /a , fjords, a href= https://www.nsf.gov/geo/opp/antarct/aca/nsf01151/aca2_spa143.pdf target= _blank fossil sites /a and wildlife. /p p Australia has successfully operated Davis Station since 1957 with existing transport arrangements. While the development may win Australia some strategic influence in Antarctica, it s at odds with our strong history of environmental leadership in the region. /p Year-Round Access p The Australian Antarctic Division (AAD), a federal government agency, a href= https://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/travel-and-logistics/aviation/davis-aerodrome/about-the-project/ target= _blank argues /a the runway would allow year-round aviation access between Hobart and Antarctica. /p p Presently, the only Australian flights to Antarctica take place at the beginning and end of summer. Aircraft land at an aerodrome near the Casey research station, with interconnecting flights to other stations and sites on the continent. The stations are inaccessible by both air and ship in winter. /p p The AAD says year-round access to Antarctica would provide significant science benefits, including: /p ul li better understanding sea level rise and other climate change impacts /li li opportunities to study wildlife across the annual lifecycle of key species including krill, penguins, seals and seabirds /li li allowing scientists to research through winter. /li /ul p span /span Leading international scientists a href= https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/delivering-21st-century-antarctic-and-southern-ocean-science/A5E6D29C34AA2794140C6B4966E63048 target= _blank had called for /a improved, environmentally responsible access to Antarctica to support 21st-century science. However, the aerodrome project is likely to reduce access for scientists to Antarctica for years, due to the need to house construction workers. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ4MTAzOC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMTA2MjgxM30.67ezSuuw8Pyk9hqMquMDXlZQVkJgTJ7LLJLBnrLb0lM/img.jpg?width=980 id= 12b42 >Australia says the runway would have significant science benefits. Australian Antarctic DivisionAustralia: An Environmental Leader? p Australia has traditionally been considered an environmental leader in Antarctica. For example, in 1989 under the Hawke government, it urged the world to abandon a mining convention in favour of a new deal to ban mining on the continent. /p p Australia s a href= https://www.antarctica.gov.au/about-us/antarctic-strategy-and-action-plan/20-year-action-plan/ target= _blank 20 Year Action Plan /a promotes leadership in environmental stewardship in Antarctica , pledging to minimise the environmental impact of Australia s activities . /p p But the aerodrome proposal appears at odds with that goal. It would cover 2.2 square kilometres, increasing the total a href= https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/antarctic-science/article/what-is-footprint-in-antarctica-proposing-a-set-of-definitions/7FBDB26F3AF2F5A6C157FCB2E6A2D996 target= _blank disturbance footprint /a of all nations on the a href= https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-019-0237-y target= _blank continent /a by 40%. It would also mean Australia has the biggest footprint of any nation, overtaking the United States. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ4MTAzOS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MTYwNDQ2Nn0.6sP4AJoMEMoSyXIbRRmW5lnDfsF0-3hZLNNyQFmt4xo/img.jpg?width=980 id= cd97c >The contribution of disturbance footprint from countries in Antarctica measured from Brooks et al. 2019, with Australia's share increasing to 35% including the aerodrome proposal. Shaun Brooks p Within this footprint, environmental effects will also be intense. a href= http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/_entity/annotation/174a3e6b-4f42-ea11-b0a8-00505684324c/a71d58ad-4cba-48b6-8dab-f3091fc31cd5?t=1594857491287 target= _blank Construction /a will require more than three million cubic metres of earthworks - levelling 60 vertical metres of hills and valleys along the length of the runway. This will inevitably cause dust emissions – on the windiest continent on Earth - and the effect of this on plants and animals in Antarctica is a href= https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102019000440 target= _blank poorly understood /a . /p p Wilson s storm petrels that nest at the site will be displaced. Native lichens, fungi and algae will be destroyed, and irreparable damage is expected at adjacent lakes. /p p Weddell seals breed within 500 metres of the proposed runway site. Federal environment officials a href= http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/_entity/annotation/174a3e6b-4f42-ea11-b0a8-00505684324c/a71d58ad-4cba-48b6-8dab-f3091fc31cd5?t=1594857491287 target= _blank recognise /a the dust from construction and subsequent noise from low flying aircraft have the potential to disturb these breeding colonies. /p p The proposed area is also important breeding habitat for Adélie penguins. Eight breeding sites in the region are listed as important bird areas . Federal environment officials state the penguins are likely to be impacted by human disturbance, dust, and noise from construction of the runway, with particular concern for oil spills and aircraft operations. /p p The summer population at Davis Station will need to almost double from 120 to 250 a href= http://epbcnotices.environment.gov.au/_entity/annotation/174a3e6b-4f42-ea11-b0a8-00505684324c/a71d58ad-4cba-48b6-8dab-f3091fc31cd5?t=1594857491287 target= _blank during construction /a . This will require new, permanent infrastructure and increase the station s fuel and water consumption, and sewage discharged into the environment. /p p The AAD has proposed measures to limit environmental damage. These include gathering baseline data (against which to measure the project s impact), analysing potential effects on birds and marine mammals and limiting disturbance where practicable. /p p But full details won t be provided until later in the assessment process. We expect Australia will implement these measures to a high standard, but they will not offset the project s environmental damage. /p Playing Politics p So given the environmental concern, why is Australia so determined to build the aerodrome? We believe the answer largely lies in Antarctic politics. /p p Australian officials a href= https://www.antarctica.gov.au/site/assets/files/54470/future_science_opportunities_synthesis_report_final.pdf target= _blank have said /a the project would contribute to both our presence and influence on the continent. Influence in Antarctica has traditionally corresponded to the strength of a nation s scientific program, its infrastructure presence and engagement in international decision-making. /p p Australia is a well-regarded member of the Antarctic Treaty. It was an original signatory and claims sovereignty over 42% of the continent. It also has a solid physical and scientific presence, maintaining three large year-round research stations. /p p But other nations are also vying for influence. China is constructing its fifth research station. New Zealand a href= https://www.stuff.co.nz/science/113844159/scott-base-rebuild-to-cost-250-million target= _blank is planning /a a NZ$250 million upgrade to Scott Base. And on King George Island, six stations have been built a href= https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v31i0.18206 target= _blank within a 5km radius /a , each run by different nations. This presence is hard to justify on the basis of scientific interest alone. /p Getting Our Priorities Straight p We believe there are greater and more urgent opportunities for Australia to assert its leadership in Antarctica. /p p For example both Casey and Mawson stations – Australia s two other permanent bases – discharge sewage into the pristine marine environment with little treatment. And outdated fuel technology at Australia s three stations regularly causes a href= https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.02.024 target= _blank diesel spills /a . /p p At Wilkes station, which Australia abandoned in the 1960s, thousands of tonnes of contaminants have been a href= https://doi.org/10.1111/rec.12383 target= _blank left behind /a . /p p Australia should fix such problems before adding more potentially damaging infrastructure. This would meet our environmental treaty obligations and show genuine Antarctic leadership. /p p "https://www.newsbreak.com/florida/melbourne/news/0Pd7bgay/australia-wants-to-build-a-huge-concrete-runway-in-antarctica-heres-why-thats-a-bad-idea" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Australia wants to build a huge concrete runway in Antarctica. Here's ... Building a paved runway in Antarctica Leonid Eremeychuk / iStock / Getty Images Plus By Jake JohnsonGreen groups celebrated a "resounding victory for taxpayers, public health, and the environment" late Wednesday after a federal judge blocked the Trump administration from rolling back an Obama-era rule designed to limit planet-warming methane emissions. p span /span U.S. District Judge Yvonne Rogers of the Northern District of California said the Bureau of Land Management s (BLM) 2018 a href= https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2018/09/18/trump-administration-launches-more-attacks-public-health-methane-rule-rollback target= _blank rescission /a of the Waste Prevention Rule without thoroughly and thoughtfully considering potential environmental impacts was unlawful. /p p Instead, in its zeal, BLM simply engineered a process to ensure a preordained conclusion, Rogers wrote in her 57-page a href= https://earthjustice.org/sites/default/files/files/ygr_summary_judgment_order.pdf target= _blank decision /a . Where a court has found such widespread violations, the court must fulfill its duties in striking the defectively promulgated rule. /p p Erik Schlenker-Goodrich, executive director of the Western Environmental Law Center, applauded the forceful repudiation of BLM s rollback. /p p The Trump administration has abused every opportunity — legal or otherwise — to maximize the oil and gas industry s profits at the expense of taxpayers, public health, and the climate, Schlenker-Goodrich said in a a href= https://westernlaw.org/federal-court-rejects-trump-administration-cancellation-methane-pollution-rule/ target= _blank statement /a . /p p Rogers decision means the rule requiring oil and gas companies to prevent wasteful venting and leaking of methane on public lands will go back into effect in 90 days. Given that methane can cause a href= https://www.factcheck.org/2018/09/how-potent-is-methane/ target= _blank over 80 times more warming /a than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period, environmentalists celebrated the ruling as a significant victory for the climate. /p p The judge basically rejected every attempt by the Trump administration to gut these common-sense waste prevention measures on behalf of their oil and gas industry cronies, Earthjustice attorney Robin Cooley said in a a href= https://earthjustice.org/news/press/2020/court-slaps-down-trump-administrations-rollback-of-methane-rule target= _blank statement /a . Most importantly, the judge said the administration cannot ignore the impacts on health and well-being of the people who live near oil and gas facilities. /p p em Reposted with permission from a href= https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/16/resounding-win-public-health-and-climate-judge-blocks-trump-attempt-gut-methane target= _blank Common Dreams /a . /em em /em /p Read More Show Less Photo courtesy NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment By John R. PlattIn most cases an extinction takes decades of slow attrition and population declines — a death by a thousand cuts.Sometimes, though, a species can nearly vanish in the blink of an eye. p Take the strange, scary case of the a href= https://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/threatenedspeciesapp/profile.aspx?id=20301 target= _blank Bellinger River snapping turtle /a ( em Myuchelys georgesi /em ). A few years ago, an estimated 4,500 of these colorful critters swam the waters of the Australian water system for which they were named, a 44-mile river in the state of New South Wales, about six hours north of Sydney. They were probably never a populous species, and they faced a few problems from egg-eating predators, but otherwise these turtles hung on just fine. /p p Then disaster struck. /p p In 2015 canoeist Rowan Simon and a friend were paddling down the Bellinger River when they noticed a turtle sitting on a rock. It should have jumped back into the water as they approached. It didn t. They got closer and found a shocking sight — its eyes were grown over with this disease, as Simon recounted to the em Sydney Morning Herald /em a href= https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/armed-with-goggles-and-snorkels-a-couple-of-canoeists-saved-a-rare-turtle-from-extinction-20190521-p51pos.html target= _blank last year /a . They found another sick turtle 20 minutes later. /p p That was the first sign of a disease that, in under two months, would wipe out more than 90% of the species. In addition to blindness, the virus reportedly caused inflammatory lesions and internal organ failure. /p p Today as few as 150 Bellinger River snapping turtles remain, making them a href= https://therevelator.org/turtle-extinction-crisis/ target= _blank one of the world s 25 rarest turtle or tortoise species /a . Australia has declared them critically endangered and devoted hundreds of thousands of dollars toward the species conservation. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ4MDQ5My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwOTc1NTcxOH0.s6d2Jfip_852qnjCdjNmyLUONwqibqLrOM3Zaquq5-c/img.jpg?width=980 id= fd2a9 >Photo by Dr. Ricky Spencer, courtesy NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment p I don t know of any similar wildlife mortality like this, says ecologist Bruce Chessman of the University of New South Wales-Sydney. Of course, the chytrid fungus has wiped out some amphibian species quickly, but I don t know of anything equivalent with turtles. /p p Chessman served as the lead author of a a href= https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/aqc.3258 target= _blank recent paper /a that provided an estimate of the Bellinger River snapping turtle s precipitous decline. There s a lot of uncertainty because, as the paper says, trying to get a reliable estimate of a very rare species over 70 kilometers of river is quite challenging. But we think it s about 150-200 animals remaining. The risk of extinction is real because of the small number left. /p Virus-plus? p The researchers also examined several hypotheses about how a previously unknown and still unidentified virus could have killed so many turtles so quickly. /p p They didn t find much. /p p It s all a bit of a mystery, Chessman says. There s still so much we don t know. We know it s a reptile type of virus, but we have no idea where it came from, how long it s been in the Bellinger River, or how it managed to apparently spread upstream rather than downstream at a rate of up to a kilometer a day, which is really quite bizarre. /p p a href= https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006320717305335#! target= _blank Previous research /a had suggested that some additional contributing factor — perhaps abnormal water temperatures, pollution or malnutrition — may have magnified the effects of the virus so that it caused so many fatalities. Current research, however, has found no specific evidence to support those hypotheses — at least, not yet. /p p We can t rule out that some sort of unusual environmental conditions in the preceding months were related to it somehow, but we don t really have the information to understand what that was or what it may have been, says Chessman. Unfortunately, there isn t that much information about what happened in the river until these sick and dead turtles started showing up in February 2015. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ4MDQ5NC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0MTIwNzI0MX0.Tu5eeWTAoYiCcloALtcnesh0EIGmOzpqm1kJP4_T0ks/img.jpg?width=980 id= 9ca8b >The Bellinger River in September 2019. Photo: Michael Coghlan (CC BY-SA 2.0) p Even our understanding of the virus — what it does and how it kills — continues to lag. /p p Because the species is so critically endangered now, it s not permissible to try infection trials with the few adults that are remaining, Chessman explains. So it s still not possible to get that experimental confirmation about what infection with the virus really does to the turtles. /p p All of this leaves the teams working to conserve the turtles with a great deal of uncertainty. /p p We really don t know what the prospects are in terms of further disease outbreak and mortality, Chessman says. The few remaining turtles also face threats from predators, mostly introduced red fox, as well as from native species such as monitor lizards. /p p There s also a genetic threat. Another Australian turtle species, the Macquarie turtle ( em Emydura macquarii /em ), appeared in the Bellinger River in recent years. The newcomers are slightly more aggressive than the native species, so they outcompete them for food, and there s evidence they ve started to breed and hybridize with Bellinger River snapping turtles. /p p The challenges are ahead, Chessman says. But everyone s giving it their best. /p p That everyone includes the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment, other government organizations, local conservation groups and experts around the world. /p p And that collaboration may represent hope for the species. /p The Last Chance Leads to the Next Generation p After his first warnings reportedly fell on deaf ears, Rowan Simon and another friend returned to the river, where they gathered up 50 dead and dying turtles and presented them to the local council. /p p The collection process was pretty horrific, Rowan told the em Sydney Morning Herald /em . /p p That confrontation finally motivated action. But by then — just two months after the first signs of the disease — very few turtles were left. /p p At the last minute, conservation teams rescued 17 healthy mature and immature Bellinger River snapping turtles from an upper stretch of the river the disease hadn t yet reached. They soon became the core of a captive-breeding population at Sydney s Taronga Zoo. Another 19 immature turtles (also healthy) were collected in November 2016 and sent to Symbio Wildlife Park to start a second captive-assurance population. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ4MDQ5NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwMzY0MTc2Nn0.eg233IOr78i7lW_ZsgyrjOuYLmgbQfdOXqNSTsaxsZ8/img.jpg?width=980 id= f91f3 >A recent hatchling identified with a unique dab of paint. Photo courtesy NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment p That effort has paid off — and probably saved the species from extinction. /p p The captive turtles promptly got down to business and started breeding. Today more than 130 healthy turtles live at the two breeding facilities. Taronga Zoo announced the birth of the most recent a href= https://taronga.org.au/media-release/2020-03-16/baby-boom-bellinger-river-snapping-turtle target= _blank 35 turtle babies /a this past May. /p p More importantly, 20 captive-born animals have been released back into the river, where they re a href= https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1428427787362202 target= _blank constantly monitored /a through surveys and radio transmitters. /p span >Two Bellinger River snapping turtle hatchlings. Photo courtesy NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment p That means it would take decades for the population to come anywhere close to recovery even if the zoos keep producing and releasing young, and if the virus doesn t have a resurgence. /p p That timeline shouldn t come as a surprise, as it often takes decades for threatened species to recover once (or if) the threat that put them at risk is contained. As examples, the Chessman team s paper points out the difficulties faced by two other turtle species that faced enormous declines: /p p em …a population of northern map turtles ( /em Graptemys geographica em ) in the USA took 27 years to recover after a period of harvesting in which abundance declined by ~50% … and there was no recovery of a common snapping turtle ( /em Chelydra serpentina em ) population in Canada 23 years after loss of 39% of nesting females to predation by otters… /em /p p For now, though, the Bellinger River snapping turtle s declines have ceased. /p p The biggest question, though, is whether that status quo will persist. /p p The means of recovery are in place, potentially, but there s ongoing uncertainty about further mortality from disease, says Chessman. We just don t know really what s going to happen to these young turtles that are being released once they reach maturity. Will they then succumb to the disease and die, or was it perhaps more of a one-off event? /p p Other uncertainties include the potential threat of more bushfires like the ones Australia experienced earlier this year. Several media reports have suggested a href= https://m.gulf-times.com/story/653574/Frightening-amount-of-world-heritage-area-burned-in-Australia target= _blank debris from the fires fell into the Bellinger River /a , potentially affecting the turtles food supplies. (Despite more than four months of inquiries, the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment s public affairs office would not answer questions about how the fires may have affected the river.) /p Extinction Inspiration p Although we don t know much about the river basin s water quality before the turtles got sick, we know a lot more about it now — because this near-extinction has motivated the community. /p p Soon after news of the virus and mass turtle deaths emerged, a group of citizens banded together to form a href= http://www.ozgreen.org/br target= _blank Bellingen Riverwatch /a (named after the nearby town with a slightly different name than the river itself). Now community volunteers, schools and other organizations conduct monthly water-quality tests across three rivers, a process that s continued even amid the pandemic. /p span >Bellingen Riverwatch uses an icon of the critically endangered Bellinger River snapping turtle in its logo. p But the a href= https://us19.campaign-archive.com/?u=30dee497e9a546ac8f61f1f67 amp;id=dc0186b4c3 target= _blank most recent Riverwatch report /a , published June 24, found the river to be in great shape, with no visible pollution in most sites and only slight rises in certain phosphate levels or algae in others. /p Swimming Forward p Although many questions remain, the Bellinger River snapping turtle appears to have been saved from extinction — for now. /p p Of course, the threat of another potential outbreak still looms large — as it does for other wildlife species and even people around the world. /p p Situations like this are of course unpredictable and could in theory happen anytime and anywhere — kind of like COVID, says biologist Craig Stanford, the lead author of a new study about a href= https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0960982220306369 target= _blank the threats faced by the world s turtle and tortoise species /a . What s happening with the Bellinger River turtle, he says, concerns all of us, but it s hard to take lessons from it to prevent something like this from happening in the future. /p p But there s one lesson from the Bellinger River that we can all carry forward: If you see a turtle or other animal that s displaying signs of illness or unusual behavior, raise the alarm. It could be the start of something catastrophic — and an opportunity to bring a coalition and a community together to fight for a good cause and make a difference. /p p em a href= https://therevelator.org/author/john/ target= _blank John R. Platt /a is the editor of The Revelator. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in Scientific American, Audubon, Motherboard /em em , and numerous other magazines and publications. His Extinction Countdown column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists. /em /p p em /em em Reposted with permission from a href= https://therevelator.org/bellinger-river-turtle-virus/ target= _blank The Revelator /a . /em em /em /p h2 br/ /h2 p "https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/11/critically-endangered-snapping-turtle-program-breeds-hope-for-survival" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Critically endangered snapping turtle program breeds hope for ... Critically endangered Bellinger River snapping turtle makes a ... Pexels By Danielle NierenbergSince the first episode of Food Talk Live aired on March 19, our twice-daily live conversation series has featured nearly 150 food system experts, advocates, scientists, chefs and more. p This means that, over the past four months, I ve probably asked more than 1,000 questions to these folks about the future of the food system. There has been a lot of news to unpack this week alone, between a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/with-us3-million-in-grants-refeds-covid-19-fund-is-saving-food-waste-and-feeding-people/ target= _blank funding food waste reduction /a , a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/little-free-pantries-providing-covid-19-food-relief-in-seattle/ target= _blank addressing community food insecurity /a , and a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/corporate-accountability-report-details-big-business-influence-on-nutrition-policy/ target= _blank understanding the influence of the food industry on nutrition policy /a . And during my live conversations, every question I ask raises even more. /p p This week, Food Tank is highlighting 15 quotes that address thorny, world-changing questions about building a more sustainable and equitable food system. /p How do we rectify racial inequities in land ownership? p As a result of colonial genocide, land grabbing, USDA discrimination, state-level nativism, lynching, and expulsion, over 98% of the farmland in this county is owned by white Americans today. Ralph Paige of the Federation of Southern Cooperatives put it simply, Land is the only real wealth in this country and if we don t own any we ll be out of the picture. We need a nationwide commitment to share the land back, so that all communities can have the means of production for food security. /p p — Leah Penniman, founder and director of Soul Fire Farm. a href= https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10055-3 target= _blank Read more here /a . /p How impactful can collective agricultural labor unions be to protect farm workers? p In 2019, through our collective bargaining procedures, we resolved cases on wage issues amounting to over US$800,000 dollars. If they were non-union, that money would have been lost to the worker s pocket. If this is what we recoup for workers in the union setting, imagine what must be happening in non-union settings. /p p — Baldemar Velásquez, founder and president of the Farm Labor Organizing Committee. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/new-on-the-podcast-baldemar-velasquez-on-amplifying-the-voices-of-migrant-farmworkers/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p What does it mean to support local, regional, and sustainable food by engaging in good food purchasing? p This is a time I think of as a great reckoning. Seeing the public interest in food and how important food is as a public service is how procurement works — it aligns the purchasing power of government institutions with what the values of the public are. I think an important next step would be to have city or municipal leaders set aggregate purchasing targets and invite, encourage, persuade all large food service institutions to participate in setting these aggregate targets. And then you can really start making accelerated change in the local food economy, which is something we know we need to build back right now. The idea of good food purchasing is to support equity and to support creating economic opportunity for those who have not had that economic opportunity. /p p — Paula Daniels, co-founder, chair of the board, and chief of what s next at the Center for Good Food Purchasing. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/new-on-the-podcast-didier-toubia-on-cultivated-meat-and-paula-daniels-on-good-food-purchasing-policies/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p What is the importance of “middle-man” food processors in supporting local farm-based food systems? p Can we imagine how to circle out of this in a way that is better than what we had before? I want to shine an uncomfortable light on the farm-to-table movement. It turns out to have a very weak link. I don t know that the answer is to return to that moment, because what this shows is that it wasn t as strong in conception of feeding people and a food system moving forward as we would ve imagined. /p p — Dan Barber, executive chef and co-founder of Blue Hill at Stone Barns. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/dan-barber-and-luke-saunders-on-keeping-the-farm-to-community-connection-during-covid-19/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p What can we do to make regenerative farming not only the norm, but affordable? p We need to realize that economic justice and the growth of organic and regenerative food and farming and land use go together. We can t have one without the other. That s what s so beautiful about this Green New Deal. /p p — Ronnie Cummins, executive director of the Organic Consumers Association. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/04/cummins-talks-green-new-deal-regenerative-agriculture-covid-19/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p How can traditional resource-management techniques lay the foundation for food sovereignty? p em Tagal /em is a traditional fisheries management practice in [the Malaysian state of] Sabah, in which communities swear oaths to nurture wild fisheries until they teem with river carp, and then open them, by agreement, for communal consumption at special times. During COVID-19 the power of tagal has therefore also become a key topic: how communities who have reinvigorated their culture of river stewardship have been able to access their own protein resources in their places. /p p — Cynthia Ong amp; Kenneth Wilson of Forever Sabah in Sabah, Malaysia. a href= https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10082-0 target= _blank Read more here /a . /p What role can mutual aid and distributive food systems play in feeding our communities? p Resilience and regeneration are not a given, they need to be purposefully nurtured. We therefore need to invest and facilitate the creation of distributive food systems based on local needs and capacities that assure a fair redistribution of value, knowledge and power across actors and territories to deliver sustainable food for all. /p p — Ana Moragues-Faus, professor of economics and business, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. a href= https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10087-9 target= _blank Read more here /a . /p How can greater public funding drive food innovation in Latin America and the Global South? p One of the forgotten links in all these food systems, connections between agriculture, nutrition, and health, is that you need knowledge. You need to do some research, and then you need to innovate. … If we can put trillions and trillions of dollars into good research on safeguarding the economy, we should also be putting in quite a bit of funding for health and food systems. /p p — Ruben Echeverria, senior research fellow at International Food Policy Research Institute and research associate at the Latin American Center for Rural Development. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/new-on-the-podcast-john-piotti-discusses-a-farmers-relief-fund-and-ruben-echeverria-talks-global-food-policy/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p What role can entrepreneurs play in building a better food system? p We have this really beautiful rich, diverse country where we can produce and we can create so much wealth for all of us, and it s now about zooming in and resourcing these gaps that we know exist. /p p — Caesaré Assad, CEO of accelerator Food System 6. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/03/caesare-assad-on-the-food-system-covid-19/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p How do we build a new European community-based sustainable food system that doesn’t replicate the past? p My vision is for a new food economy with more and more of us growing a percentage of our own food, and preferentially purchasing in season and local food from local and sustainable farmers. This future food system will not be identical to those that I remember from my childhood in the 50s and 60s, since the world has changed since then. The internet and other related digital innovations including on-line marketing, and the emergence of farmers markets and community supported agriculture, are all expressions of the boundless innovation of humanity. So, let us hope that the farming community will prosper and come to play a more central role in our future food systems. Let the new food revolution flourish and thrive! /p p — Patrick Holden, British farmer and founder of Sustainable Food Trust. a href= https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10049-1 target= _blank Read more here /a . /p How can we understand and prepare for the connections between COVID-19 and diet health? p Because [the pandemic of diet-related disease] has happened over 30 to 40 years, we ve ignored that equivalent or even larger pandemic. And now they re coming together, and we re seeing that we set up an environment of people with poor metabolic health who are predisposed to COVID. … We have not invested in the science that we should have invested in up until this point, to have answers to these questions. People are talking about stocking personal protective equipment and stocking ventilators and stocking vaccines — but what about stocking science on food and health and nutrition? That would ve been incredibly important. /p p —Dariush Mozaffarian, cardiologist and dean of the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/05/new-on-the-podcast-dr-dariush-mozaffarian-on-creating-healthier-american-diets-and-nutrition-programs/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p How is localized, diverse seed security vital to our food security and national security? p As the world slowly rebuilds and recovers, we all have a fresh opportunity to regenerate and share a greater diversity of seeds—and to honor and return benefits to traditional seed keepers from many cultures. We would be remiss not to sow true, place-based seed sovereignty in every region and among every culture on this planet, well before a future crisis could uproot us again. /p p — Gary Paul Nabhan, ethnobotanist and co-founder of Native Seeds/SEARCH. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/07/a-call-for-community-based-seed-diversity-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/ target= _blank Read more here /a . /p How has the COVID-19 crisis played into forces of industrialization threatening Iranian smallholder farmers? p There is an irony in expecting governments to kick into action in an emergency to support people and production systems that they actively undermine in the best of times. This shows that COVID-19 is not impacting food systems in a vacuum, but is in fact a shock to an ongoing struggle for power and survival. Like many smallholder producers worldwide who make a massive contribution to food security, pastoralists struggle against forces that seek to upend their way of life in favor of industrial food systems. /p p — Maryam Rahmanian amp; Nahid Naghizadeh of the Centre for Sustainable Development in Tehran, Iran. a href= https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-020-10093-x target= _blank Read more here /a . /p How do we encourage young Africans to stay on farms and improve agriculture on the continent? p I would argue that what is missing in the [agricultural] sector is those young people who have access to productive resources and have the knowledge and the skillset that can help improve productivity. … If we want young people to stay in agriculture, then we have to make agriculture profitable for those young people. And for agriculture to be profitable, it has to be productive. Giving them access to those productive resources that will allow them to increase the productivity of agriculture will be critical. /p p — Felix Kwame Yeboah, social science researcher and professor of international development at Michigan State University. a href= https://foodtank.com/news/2020/06/new-on-the-podcast-dr-felix-kwame-yeboah-on-youth-powered-agricultural-development/ target= _blank Listen to more here /a . /p Finally, what will it take to help us use suffering as a springboard into liberation? p We re all suffering. But at the end of the day, folks, what makes us strong is our belief in one another, that we will come together to help one another get back on our feet. … This is our time, this is our moment to not go back to politics and Wall Street, but to move forward. It s more about people than profits. This is our time to move forward and change the system. /p p — Karen Washington, farmer and founder of Rise and Root Farm. a href= https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?v=227538081894588 amp;ref=watch_permalink target= _blank Watch more here /a /p From Your Site Articles The Solution Under Our Feet: How Regenerative Organic ... Related Articles Around the Web 15 Memorable Quotes from The Leaders of the Real Food Movement p Kemp argued that the Atlanta rule is not legally enforceable because he signed an executive order prohibiting municipalities from enacting stricter requirements than the state, a href= https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/politics/georgia-kemp-mask-mandate/index.html target= _blank CNN reported /a . On Wednesday, he signed an executive order suspending all local mask mandates. /p p It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us, Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, whose city also requires masks, tweeted in response to Wednesday s order. Every man and woman for himself/herself. Ignore the a href= https://www.ecowatch.com/science/ target= _self science /a and survive the best you can. /p div id= 887f8 "https://www.ecowatch.com/second-wave-covid-19-2646172597.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">A Second Wave of COVID-19 Looms Large—and It's Not Because of ... Younger People Now Driving Spikes in New Coronavirus Cases ... Voting Is Now a Public Health Issue - EcoWatch Related Articles Around the Web What the heck is Georgia's governor doing? - CNNPolitics How the coronavirus is upending Georgia's politics 'We'll see him in court': Atlanta mayor questions Georgia gov's 'bizarre' Indonesia's dam project might devastate the most critical areas of the Batang Toru ecosystem and drive the Tapanuli orangutan to extinction. Tim Laman / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 4.0 By Hans Nicholas Jong Construction of a hydropower plant in the only known habitat of a critically endangered orangutan species on the Indonesian island of Sumatra might be delayed for up to three years due to COVID-19 and funding issues. p Muhammad Ikhsan Asaad, who oversees the project for state-owned utility PLN, said the Batang Toru plant was supposed to start operating in 2022, based on the agreement between PLN and project developer PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NHSE). /p p But it might be delayed to 2025, mainly because the drawdown from lender Bank of China is stopped due to environmental concerns as well as COVID-19, he a href= https://www.dunia-energi.com/proyek-plta-batang-toru-molor-hingga-2025/ target= _blank said /a . /p p In construction, a drawdown refers to a situation in which a company receives part of the funding necessary to complete a project, and the rest of the funding might be disbursed gradually over the course of the project. /p p The project is a href= https://www.gatra.com/detail/news/426148/politik/plta-batang-toru-selesai-akhir-tahun-2020 target= _blank estimated to cost /a $1.68 billion, financed through equity and loans. /p p NSHE a href= https://alert-conservation.org/issues-research-highlights/2018/7/9/alert-scientists-lobby-indonesian-president-to-save-worlds-rarest-ape target= _blank initially sought loans /a from funders like the World Bank s International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). But following the description of a new orangutan species, the Tapanuli orangutan ( em Pongo tapanuliensis /em ), in the Batang Toru ecosystem in northern Sumatra in 2017, environmentalists have called for the project to be stopped or at least a href= https://news.mongabay.com/2020/03/tapanuli-orangutan-batang-toru-nshe-iucn-ape-dam/ target= _blank halted to allow /a for an independent scientific study of its impact on the newly known species. /p p They say the project might a href= https://news.mongabay.com/2018/05/rarest-apes-path-to-survival-blocked-by-roads-dams-and-agriculture/ target= _blank devastate /a the most critical areas of the Batang Toru ecosystem and drive the Tapanuli orangutan to extinction. Only 760 of the great apes are estimated to survive in a tiny tract of forest less than one-fifth the size of the metropolitan area that comprises Indonesia s capital, Jakarta. /p p Shortly after its description, the Tapanuli orangutan was categorized as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List due to its decreasing population trend — a href= https://news.mongabay.com/2017/12/the-worlds-newest-great-ape-revealed-a-month-ago-is-already-nearly-extinct-iucn/ target= _blank down by 83% /a in just three generations — and heavily fragmented distribution. /p p The IFC and ADB subsequently distanced themselves from the project. And in March 2019, the Bank of China, which is also involved in financing the project, said it had noted the concerns expressed by some environmental organizations and promised to carefully review the project. It has not issued any further public updates, leaving the funding for the project uncertain. /p p NSHE a href= https://news.mongabay.com/2019/12/indonesian-dam-raises-questions-about-un-hydropower-carbon-loophole/ target= _blank has previously confirmed /a that the project s funding was in doubt as a result of campaigns against the dam. /p p PLN director Zulkifli Zaini said environmental issues were among the reason why the project might be delayed. /p p It is true that the project faced hurdles from NGOs over environmental issues, he said. There are apes and other [animals] there. /p p The coronavirus outbreak has also proved to be a setback, with the work on the hydropower plant put on hold since January after construction workers from Chinese state-owned contractor Sinohydro, who had gone home for the Lunar New Year holiday, were barred entry back into Indonesia over health concerns. /p p NSHE has submitted a request to PLN, as the buyer of the plant s power, to push the start of the dam s operation to 2025. But the utility said a decision hadn t been made yet. /p p NSHE and PLN are still in the stage of discussion or collective review regarding the target of the Batang Toru hydropower dam operational target, NSHE spokesman Firman Taufick said. Whatever the result of the discussion between NSHE and PLN, we will always follow the policy and direction from PLN. /p p A decline in electricity consumption as a result of suspended economic activity during the pandemic is a href= https://www.thejakartapost.com/paper/2020/06/21/1-5b-batang-toru-hydropower-plant-may-be-delayed-by-years.html target= _blank another factor /a that could delay the project, according to Riza Husni, chairman of APPLTA, a national association of hydropower plant developers. /p p Dana Tarigan, the head of the North Sumatra chapter of the Indonesian Forum for the Environment (Walhi), said he hoped PLN would take into account the environmental concerns over the project in making a decision. /p p We re hoping PLN could see the rejection well, he told Mongabay. There s not only the problem with COVID-19, but also rejections from many parties, whether it s because of [the potential impact on] the orangutan and other biodiversity, or on the safety of the people [living in nearby areas]. /p p span /span Dana said Walhi had staged a protest in 2018 against the project outside the offices of PT Pembangkit Jawa Bali (PJB) Investasi, a subsidiary of PLN that serves as the project sponsor and a shareholder in the Batang Toru power plant. /p p The protesters demanded that PJB Investasi, which holds a 25% stake in NSHE, to withdraw from the project. /p p Dana also urged PLN to take into account a recent a href= http://static1.1.sqspcdn.com/static/f/1200343/28292859/1588408298700/BatangToruFactcheckReport.pdf?token=nj9gUyDjXX4hT%2Bx1lW5KLZgXV1M%3D target= _blank fact-check report /a by the IUCN that analyzes the many contradictory claims being made about the project s potential impacts, specifically assertions made by NSHE. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MzU0My9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5NzIzMTc3Mn0.hYrb_A5sGEjMoPrxJ-L-pkvR_Hzk4dnNOmzjl9G9mR4/img.jpg?width=980 id= d46a1 >The Batang Toru River, the proposed power source for a Chinese-funded hydroelectric dam. Ayat S. Karokaro / Mongabay-Indonesia h3 strong Fact-Checking /strong /h3 p The report identifies several significant claims found in NSHE s publications or press releases as being inaccurate or misleading. /p p In at least ten cases, assertions made in public-facing NSHE literature or on the NSHE website are found to be inconsistent with findings presented in earlier impact assessments conducted on behalf of NSHE, the report says. /p p The report also finds other claims made by NSHE contradict findings in peer-reviewed literature and technical reports. /p p Some of these relate to the most controversial aspects of the project such as its impact on the Tapanuli orangutan and the ecology of the Batang Toru river, the demand for the power that the plant would produce, and the project s compliance with international investment standards, the report says. /p p Emmy Hafild, a senior adviser to NSHE s chairman, said the report mistakenly accounted for the whole project permit area, instead of its actual footprint, to assess its potential impact on the orangutan. She also said the permit area referred to in the report was based on the company s permit area during exploration stage, which was larger than the current permit area post-exploration. /p p The IUCN fact check report is clearly wrong, Emmy said. The report uses data that s already outdated and this is the location permit, not the footprint of the project. /p p Serge Wich, the co-vice chair of the IUCN primate specialists section on great apes (SGA) and one of the researchers who described the Tapanuli orangutan, said it s clear the IUCN report refers to the whole permit area in fact-checking the company s claim. /p p [A]nd we have always said that this indicates the maximum impact, he told Mongabay. /p p Wich said that while the project might not occupy the full area, its impact on the orangutan could still be devastating due to the location of the project, which lies at a key location for connectivity between the orangutan s subpopulations, split up across three separate blocks: west, east and south. By locating the dam there, the project would jeopardize that connectivity, he said. /p p Emmy denied the location of the project would impact the potential for a future forest corridor linking the western and southern populations of the orangutan. /p p The footprint of the project has been checked by our friends [researchers] and it will not disturb the corridor, she said. /p p Wich said that might not be the case, as the latest Batang Toru ecosystem map provided by NSHE clearly shows that the project area is a long wall-like structure cutting those three areas from each other. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MzU4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NDY4NjYwMH0.qWonBDpO1gLD1-MTqV2hZlhuGE7HVKmPCkv0h6z0EEo/img.jpg?width=980 id= b01e5 >The map of the Batang Toru ecosystem and the hydropower dam project area. PT North Sumatra Hydro Energy (NSHE) p Didik Prasetyo, an orangutan researcher at Jakarta s National University, who conducted a study on the project, said he s confident the hydropower dam will not threaten the orangutan as long as NSHE sticks to his recommendations. Among them: limiting the amount of traffic passing over the project s roads; and designing the project s overhead power lines to allow the orangutans to travel safely beneath them. /p p If it s safe, then [the orangutans] will not be scared to briefly walk on the ground [to cross from one population to another], Didik said. The width of the road is not too dangerous for the orangutans if there s no one passing on the road. So we re recommending the traffic be limited to particular hours. /p p He said rehabilitating impacted areas is also crucial. /p p We re recommending to the company that there are three areas that will be impacted significantly if the company doesn t manage [the project] sustainably, Didik said. So we recommend these most-threatened areas to be restored as soon as possible. /p p He said there are 273 hectares (585 acres) of orangutan habitat in the project area, of which 84 hectares (207 acres) will be used as a location for permanent buildings by the company. The remaining 189 hectares (467 acres) will be reforested, he added. /p p NSHE said it will offset permanent forest loss caused by the project by planting trees in other areas, while temporary forest loss will be restored. /p p The IUCN report, however, says restoring affected areas might not be feasible. NSHE literature identifies heaps of dug-up dirt as the areas intended for restoration, but the IUCN says this might not be realistic because these areas consist of large amounts of unconsolidated material. /p p The material is from underground and is potentially sterile to rehabilitation efforts and/or volatile to erosive processes, the report says. /p p em Reposted with permission from /em a href= https://news.mongabay.com/2020/07/batang-toru-hydropower-dam-tapanuli-orangutan-delay-nshe/ target= _blank em Mongabay. /em /a /p From Your Site Articles The Bornean Orangutan Population Has Fallen by Nearly 150,000 ... Scientists Discover a New—and Endangered—Orangutan Species ... New Dam Could Be 'Ecological Armageddon' for Rare Orangutan ... Public health officials in Colorado are urging the public to be vigilant after a squirrel tested positive for bubonic plague. Courtney McGough / Flickr The plague has recently seen an uptick in cases, and the World Health Organization has categorized it as a re-emerging disease. That's why public health officials in Colorado are urging people to be vigilant after a squirrel tested positive for bubonic plague. p The squirrel was found in the town of Morrison, west of Denver. Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) officials announced the discovery of the plague-infected squirrel in a href= https://www.jeffco.us/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=1275 target= _blank a statement /a over the weekend. It s the first case of plague in the county, according to the statement, as a href= https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bubonic-plague-colorado-squirrels-test-positive/ target= _blank CBS News /a reported. /p p Plague is an infectious disease caused by the bacteria Yersinia pestis, and can be contracted by humans and household animals if proper precautions are not taken, officials from JCPH said in the statement. /p p The county was prompted to test the squirrels after someone in Morrison reported seeing at least 15 dead squirrels around the town. Officials tested one, and since it was positive for bubonic plague, they expect others to be infected, according to CBS News. /p p The disease has been around for centuries and is responsible for the deadliest pandemic in human history. An estimated 50 million people in Europe died during the Black Death pandemic of the Middle Ages. JCPH warns the public that it can infect both humans and animals if proper precautions are not taken, according to a href= https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/14/us/bubonic-plague-squirrel-scn-trnd/index.html target= _blank CNN /a . /p p Every year, there are approximately 1,000 to 2,000 reported cases, but that is likely an undercounted number as there are many unreported cases, according to the WHO, as CNN reported. The U.S. reports up to a few dozen cases every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Two people died in Colorado from the plague in 2015, according to CNN. /p p Rodents are the main vector of plague transmission from animals to humans, but the disease can also be passed on through flea bites or from person to person. People can be infected from direct contact with blood or tissues of infected animals such as a cough or a bite, according to a href= https://abcnews.go.com/US/squirrel-tests-positive-bubonic-plague-colorado/story?id=71769840 target= _blank ABC News /a . /p p That danger hit home on the other side of the world this week when a teenage boy in Mongolia died from bubonic plague after eating a marmot, according to a separate report from a href= https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/15/asia/mongolia-plague-death-scli-intl/index.html target= _blank CNN /a . /p p Marmots are large ground squirrels, a type of rodent, that have historically been linked to plague outbreaks in the region. Tests confirmed the teenager had contracted bubonic plague and authorities imposed quarantine measures in the Tugrug district of Gobi-Altai province, according to CNN. /p p The quarantine began on Sunday, but so far the 15 people authorities isolated who came into contact with the teenager have all been healthy. /p p JCPH warned pet owners that cats are highly susceptible to the plague from things like flea bites, a rodent scratch or bite, and ingesting an infected rodent. Cats can die if not treated quickly with antibiotics after contact with the plague. Dogs, on the other hand, are far less likely to pick up the plague. However, they can contract it through fleabites, according to ABC News. /p p In its statement, JCPH recommended several precautions to protect against the plague, including eliminating sources of food and shelter for wild animals, avoiding sick or dead wild animals and rodents, and consulting with vets about flea and tick control, as CBS News reported /p p Risk for getting plague is extremely low as long as precautions are taken, the statement said. /p p The statement also added that plague symptoms include sudden onset of high fever, chills, headache, nausea and extreme pain and swelling of lymph nodes, which could occur within two to seven days after exposure to the bacteria. /p From Your Site Articles Bubonic Plague Case Confirmed in China's Inner Mongolia ... Black Death Is Back! Two Cases of Plague Confirmed in China Melting Ice Could Unleash Deadly Bacteria Lain Dormant for Millennia Related Articles Around the Web Bubonic Plague: Symptoms, Causes, Treatment, Prevention The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission delivered a victory to supporters of renewables by rejecting an April petition from the New England Ratepayers Association calling for federal rather than local jurisdiction over solar net-metering policies. Gray Watson / Wikimedia Commons / CC by 3.0 By Jessica Corbett Federal regulators on Thursday released a pair of decisions expected to impact the expansion of renewable power nationwide—one that was celebrated by environmentalists and clean energy advocates as a crucial win and another that critics warned "could lead to more pollution by propping up fossil fuel power plants." p The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) delivered a victory to supporters of renewables by a href= https://twitter.com/FERChatterjee/status/1283772536073969664 target= _blank rejecting /a an April petition from the New England Ratepayers Association (NERA) calling for federal rather than local jurisdiction over solar net-metering policies, which had a href= https://www.bloombergquint.com/technology/solar-fight-heats-up-as-u-s-set-to-rule-on-rooftop-mandates target= _blank provoked /a strong condemnation from a bipartisan group of congressional lawmakers, solar investors, and hundreds of advocacy groups. /p p As Public Citizen a href= https://www.citizen.org/news/public-citizen-unmasks-suspect-ratepayer-group-aiming-to-disrupt-u-s-solar-policy/ target= _blank explained /a last month: /p blockquote Net-metering is a billing mechanism that credits solar power generators for the electricity they add to the grid. It is a crucial component of rooftop solar project financing because it makes solar energy systems affordable for small businesses and families through energy credits for the solar power they generate. The NERA petition would grant FERC sole jurisdiction to govern such programs through the Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act [PURPA] or Federal Power Act. br /blockquote p Public Citizen, the Center for Biological Diversity, and over 450 other environmental, faith, and consumer groups a href= https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/06/15/support-urgently-needed-clean-and-just-energy-transition-450-groups-demand-federal target= _blank sent /a a letter to FERC in June arguing that state net-metering policies and distributed solar systems are foundational to achieving the nation s urgently needed clean and just energy transition—to address historical environmental injustices, fight the climate emergency, and ensure long-term resilience. /p p Howard Crystal, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity s energy justice program, authored a a href= https://biologicaldiversity.org/w/news/press-releases/legal-intervention-fights-shadowy-organizations-effort-to-gut-solar-net-metering-2020-06-11/email_view/ target= _blank legal intervention /a filed with FERC regarding the petition. In a statement Thursday, he welcomed the Republican-led commission s rejection of the NERA proposal. /p p This is a big win for our climate and for communities embracing clean solar power, Crystal said. FERC s unanimous ruling ensures that states can keep appropriately compensating people who install rooftop solar. That allows community solar and other distributed renewables to continue playing a critical role in the urgent transition to clean energy. /p p Abigail Ross Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, a href= https://www.seia.org/news/ferc-makes-right-decision-dismisses-misguided-net-metering-petition target= _blank applauded /a the panel s dismissal of the flawed petition in a statement that highlighted the solar industry s record on job creation and contributions to the U.S. economy. /p p Our industry holds great promise to help create jobs and revive local economies, she said. We are grateful to the state utility commissions and many other partners who strongly opposed this petition. We will continue working in the states to strengthen net metering policies to generate more jobs and investment and we will advocate for fair treatment of solar at FERC where it has jurisdiction. /p p Tom Rutigliano, an advocate in the Sustainable FERC Project, which is housed at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), similarly a href= https://www.nrdc.org/media/2020/200716-1 target= _blank welcomed /a the decision, saying that FERC did one thing right today in rejecting the outrageous petition that would have upended the ability of rooftop solar owners to get a fair price for the excess electricity they generate. /p p However, Rutigliano expressed concern about the panel s vote to overhaul PURPA, which is more than 40 years old and has been key to renewable energy growth across the country. As he put it: Instead of promoting small, clean generation, FERC is undercutting the ability of solar and wind power to get a fair chance to compete. /p p Noting that utilities have long sought changes to the law over cost concerns while solar and wind developers say it is critical to giving renewables a leg up in states that aren t green-leaning, em Bloomberg /em a href= https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/markets/landmark-rule-that-spurred-us-solar-wind-growth-overhauled/ar-BB16Pn2b target= _blank reported /a Thursday that the panel /p blockquote reduced the mandatory purchase obligation for utilities to five megawatts from 20 megawatts in some markets, and gave states more authority to set the price at which small generators sell their power. The one-mile rule, which determines whether generation facilities should be considered to be part of a single facility, was also changed. The agency will now require that qualifying facilities demonstrate commercial viability. br /blockquote blockquote ... br Commissioner Richard Glick, the lone Democrat on the panel, dissented in part but said that the changes would benefit consumers. Under the old regime, customers were overpaying for power they were receiving to the tune of $2.2 billion to $3.9 billion, he said. br /blockquote p Rutigliano warned that homeowners putting solar panels on their roof, farmers leasing their land to wind turbines, and industrial facilities with efficient on-site power all lose under FERC s rule today. /p p FERC is pushing the nation to use more fossil fuels, he said, just when it should be doing everything it can to support clean power. /p p em Reposted with permission from a href= https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/07/16/big-win-our-climate-and-communities-federal-panel-rejects-attack-rooftop-solar-us?cd-origin=rss target= _blank Common Dreams /a . /em /p From Your Site Articles Solar Panels Bring a New Vision for Farming - EcoWatch San Francisco Becomes First Major City to Require Solar Panels on ... How Solar Panels Can Boost Your Home's Value by Nearly $6,000 ... Related Articles Around the Web What Do Solar Panels Cost and Are They Worth It? - NerdWallet p In alarmist language, a href= https://twitter.com/tedcruz/status/1281269895519514625?s=20 target= _blank Sen. Ted Cruz of neighboring Texas tweeted /a that the Supreme Court just gave away half of Oklahoma, literally. Manhattan is next. /p p In fact, the a href= https://theconversation.com/supreme-court-upholds-american-indian-treaty-promises-orders-oklahoma-to-follow-federal-law-142459 target= _blank landmark July 9 decision /a applies only to criminal law. It gives federal and tribal courts jurisdiction over felonies committed by tribal citizens within the Creek reservation, not the state of Oklahoma. /p p Any shock that tribal nations a href= http://www.ncai.org/policy-issues/tribal-governance target= _blank have sovereignty /a over their own land reflects a serious misunderstanding of American history. For Oklahoma – indeed, all of North America – has always been, for lack of a better term, Indian Country. /p ‘Indian Country’ p As both an a href= https://www.coloradocollege.edu/academics/dept/raceethnicitymigration/people/profile.html?person=mckay_dwanna_lynn target= _blank educator /a and a href= https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=9h85fD8AAAAJ amp;hl=en target= _blank scholar /a , I work to correct the erasure of Indigenous histories through my research and teaching. /p p North America was not a vast, unpopulated wilderness when white colonizers arrived in 1620. Up to a href= https://www.amazon.com/American-Indian-Holocaust-Survival-Civilization/dp/080612220X/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1 amp;keywords=9780806120744 amp;linkCode=qs amp;qid=1594487258 amp;s=books amp;sr=1-1 target= _blank 100 million people /a of more than 1,000 sovereign Indigenous nations occupied the area that would become the United States. At the time, fewer than 80 million people lived in Europe. /p p America s Indigenous nations were incredibly advanced, with extensive trade networks and economic centers, superior agricultural cultivation, well developed metalwork, pottery and weaving practices, as historian a href= http://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx target= _blank Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz /a has comprehensively detailed. /p p Unlike Europe, with its periodic epidemics, North America had little disease, Dunbar-Ortiz says. People used herbal medicines, dentistry, surgery and daily hygienic bathing to salubrious effect. /p p Historically, Indigenous nations a href= https://theconversation.com/indigenous-people-invented-the-so-called-american-dream-85351 target= _blank emphasized equity /a , consensus and community. Though individualism would come to define the United States, my a href= https://doi.org/10.17953/aicr.37.4.g0rj7q5jp961q581 target= _blank research /a finds that Native Americans retain these values today, along with our guiding principles of respect, responsibility and reciprocity. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MzI1OC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNjE3Njk4M30.rseHgswjEJ5mRvWLXVUyvJGvdcR2pLYPo5GkenpVTGw/img.jpg?width=980 id= 42039 >The US has violated every treaty it has made with Indian Tribes. Public.Resource.OrgBroken Promises and Stolen Lands p European and American colonizers a href= http://nationalhumanitiescenter.org/pds/becomingamer/peoples/text3/indianscolonists.pdf target= _blank did not hold these same values /a . From 1492 to 1900, they pushed inexorably westward across the North American continent, a href= http://www.beacon.org/An-Indigenous-Peoples-History-of-the-United-States-P1164.aspx target= _blank burning Native villages, destroying crops /a , a href= https://open.mitchellhamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1157 amp;context=facsch target= _blank committing sexual assaults /a , a href= https://www.amazon.com/Bad-Indians-Tribal-Deborah-Miranda/dp/1597142018 target= _blank enslaving people /a and a href= https://www.nps.gov/sand/learn/historyculture/index.htm target= _blank perpetrating massacres /a . The government did not punish these atrocities against Indigenous Nations and their citizens. /p p Citing the so-called a href= https://oxford.universitypressscholarship.com/view/10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199579815.001.0001/acprof-9780199579815 target= _blank Doctrine of Discovery /a and a href= https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1373 amp;context=wvlr target= _blank Manifest Destiny /a , U.S. policymakers argued that the federal government had a divine duty to fully develop the region. a href= https://time.com/5851864/institutional-racism-america/ target= _blank Racist in language and logic /a , they contended that a href= https://doi.org/10.1177/2332649218821450 target= _blank Indians did not know how to work or to care for the land /a because they were inferior to whites. /p p Oklahoma was born of this a href= https://books.google.com/books?id=TXjNDwAAQBAJ amp;pg=PA190 amp;lpg=PA190 amp;dq=normalcy+of+legitimized+racism amp;source=bl amp;ots=CUXMMH5VZ4 amp;sig=ACfU3U37fr_T2Ie4oh0qrhyW3BlnLqo_4Q amp;hl=en amp;sa=X amp;ved=2ahUKEwiz14Ljz8rqAhUhgK0KHeAGCggQ6AEwAHoECAoQAQ#v=onepage amp;q=normalcy%20of%20legitimized%20racism amp;f=false target= _blank institutionalized racism /a . /p p Under the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole nations – known as the Five Tribes – were forced from their ancestral homelands in the southeast and relocated to Indian Territory, as Oklahoma was then designated. Half of the Muscogee and Cherokee populations died from brutal and inhumane treatment as they were forcibly marched 2,200 miles across nine states to their new homelands in what most Americans call the a href= https://www.nps.gov/trte/index.htm target= _blank Trail of Tears /a . /p p a href= https://www2.census.gov/prod2/decennial/documents/1890e1-01.pdf target= _blank Indian Territory /a , which occupied all Oklahoma minus the panhandle, was almost 44 million acres of fertile rolling prairies, rivers and groves of enormous trees. Several Indian nations already lived in the area, including the Apache, Arapaho, Comanche, Kiowa, Osage and Wichita. /p p Legally, Indian Territory a href= https://www.narf.org/nill/documents/icc_final_report.pdf target= _blank was to belong to the tribal nations forever /a , and trespass by settlers was forbidden. But over the next two centuries, Congress would violate every one of the 375 treaties it made with Indian tribes as well as numerous statutory acts, a href= https://www.usccr.gov/pubs/2018/12-20-Broken-Promises.pdf target= _blank according the United States Commission on Civil Rights /a . /p p By 1890, only about 25 million acres of Indian Territory remained. The Muscogee lost nearly half their lands in an a href= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=RE001 target= _blank 1866 Reconstruction-era treaty /a . And in 1889, a href= https://www.amazon.com/Road-Disappearance-History-Civilization-American/dp/0806115327 target= _blank almost 2 million acres in western Oklahoma /a were redesignated as Unassigned Lands and opened to white settlement. By 1890, the U.S. Census showed that only 28% of people in Indian Territory were actually Indian. /p p With statehood in 1907, Oklahoma assumed jurisdiction over all its territory, ultimately a href= https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/18/18-9526/132680/20200211152306523_Amicus%20Brief%20of%20Muscogee%20Creek%20Nation.pdf target= _blank denying that the Muscogee had ever had a reservation /a there. That is the historic injustice corrected by the Supreme Court on July 9. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MzI0MC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjc3NTg5M30.l0WZps3rnms0p6asMW6L5ZyglGPda15E_eKlo0OB54s/img.png?width=980 id= 653db >Eastern Oklahoma was granted by Congress to Native tribes in the 19th century. Kmusser / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0Respect, Responsibility and Reciprocity p Despite all the brutality and broken promises, the Five Tribes have contributed socially, culturally and economically to Oklahoma far beyond the shrinking bounds of their territories, in ways that benefit all residents. /p p The public school system created by the Choctaws shortly after their arrival became the model for Oklahoma schools that exists today. Last year, a href= https://oklahoman.com/article/5653531/caught-in-the-middle-130-million-in-education-funding-embroiled-in-tribal-gaming-clash target= _blank Oklahoma tribes /a contributed over US$130 million to Oklahoma public schools. /p p Oklahoma tribes also a href= https://www.tribalselfgov.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Alltribe-2019-Impact-Report.pdf target= _blank enrich /a Oklahoma s economy, employing over 96,000 people – most of them non-Native – and attracting tourists with their cultural events. In 2017, Oklahoma tribes produced almost $13 billion in goods and services and paid out $4.6 billion in wages and benefits. /p p The Muscogee (Creek) Nation, in particular, a href= http://www.mcnimpact.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/MCN_Impact_Report_June-26-2019.pdf target= _blank invests heavily /a in the state, creating businesses, building roads and providing jobs, health care and social services in 11 Oklahoma counties. /p img lazy-loadable= true src= https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQ2MzI0NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY1MzQyODE1Nn0.SOL7ZvG2JgfChlr5IldYnxUntjAmP8_A8NzM13_O_2E/img.jpg?width=980 id= 01d5a >A 2012 exhibition on Muscogee achievement at the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of the American Indian. Tim Evanson / flickr, CC BY 4.0 h2 Still Our Homelands /h2 p Citizens of the Five Tribes have also contributed to broader American society. /p p Before the Navajo Code Talkers of World War II, the a href= https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Choctaw_code_talkers target= _blank Choctaw Code Talkers /a used their language as code for the United States in World War I. Lt. Col a href= https://www.americanindianmagazine.org/story/creek-indian-wins-medal-of-honor target= _blank Ernest Childers /a , a Muscogee, won the Medal of Honor for his service in World War II. U.S. Poet Laureate a href= https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/30/books/joy-harjo-poet-laureate-second-term.html#:%7E:text=Joy%20Harjo%20has%20been%20appointed,writers%20such%20as%20Tracy%20K. target= _blank Joy Harjo /a , also a Muscogee, is the first Indigenous poet laureate. a href= https://www.nps.gov/people/mary-g-ross.htm target= _blank Mary Ross /a , a Cherokee, was the first known Indigenous woman engineer. And a href= https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=HE024 target= _blank John Herrington /a , Chickasaw, was a NASA astronaut. These are but a few examples. /p p The strong collaborative leadership of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation was a href= https://www.publicradiotulsa.org/post/tribes-state-officials-react-historic-scotus-ruling-mcgirt-v-oklahoma target= _blank apparent after the Supreme Court s ruling /a in Principal Chief David Hill s official response. /p p Today s decision will allow the Nation to honor our ancestors by maintaining our established sovereignty and territorial boundaries, Hill said, adding: We will continue to work with federal and state law enforcement agencies to ensure that public safety will be maintained. /p em a href= https://theconversation.com/profiles/dwanna-l-mckay-1135133 target= _blank Dwanna L. McKay /a is an /em em Assistant Professor of Race, Ethnicity, and Indigenous Studies, Colorado College. br/ /em /p p em Disclosure statement: /em em em Dwanna L. McKay does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. /em /em /p p em em /em Reposted with permission from a href= https://theconversation.com/oklahoma-is-and-always-has-been-native-land-142546 target= _blank The Conversation /a . /em /p iframe height= 1 src= https://counter.theconversation.com/content/142546/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced width= 1 /iframe From Your Site Articles Why Sacred Sites Were Destroyed for the Dakota Access Pipeline ... Why Defending Indigenous Rights Is Integral to Fighting Climate ... In Major Win for Indigenous Rights, Supreme Court Rules Much of ... Related Articles Around the Web Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Oklahoma Indian Claim - The New ... Half the land in Oklahoma could be returned to Native Americans. It ... The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) web page is displayed on a mobile phone. Pavlo Gonchar / SOPA Images / LightRocket via Getty Images The backlash to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) order for hospitals across the country to stop reporting data to the CDC and instead send their data to a private contractor was fast and furious. p In the lead-up to the implementation of that order, which goes into effect today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) removed coronavirus tracking data from its website, prompting an outcry that forced HHS to put the data back up on its site, as a href= https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2020/07/16/coronavirus-hospitalization-data-outcry/ target= _blank The Washington Post /a reported. /p p On Thursday, governors from across the country added their voices to the groundswell of objections to the plan and the abruptness of the change to the reporting protocols for hospitals, according to The Washington Post. They asked the administration to delay the shift for 30 days. In a statement, the National Governors Association said hospitals need the month to learn a new system while simultaneously handling the pandemic. /p p Democrats have accused the administration of seeking to subvert the CDC and potentially manipulate coronavirus findings. /p p I don t know why the White House is saying they want to hide the numbers, but it makes no sense in terms of fighting this crisis, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on Thursday, as a href= https://www.politico.com/news/2020/07/16/who-took-down-the-cdcs-coronavirus-data-the-agency-itself-367018 target= _blank POLITICO /a reported. /p p The maneuver seems like an attempt by the a href= http://www.ecowatch.com/trump-watch/ target= _self Trump /a administration to shift blame for the mismanagement of the coronavirus to the CDC. In addition to governors rebelling, the medical community was appalled that the CDC would be sidelined. /p p Placing medical data collection outside of the leadership of public health experts could severely weaken the quality and availability of data, add an additional burden to already overwhelmed hospitals and add a new challenge to the U.S. pandemic response, said Thomas File Jr., president of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, in a statement, as a href= https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/507581-public-health-groups-denounce-new-trump-move-sidelining-cdc target= _blank The Hill /a reported. /p p That is when HHS directed the agency to put the information back up on its website. /p p HHS is committed to being transparent with the American public about the information it is collecting on the coronavirus. Therefore, HHS has directed CDC to re-establish the coronavirus dashboards it withdrew from the public on Wednesday, Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs Michael Caputo said Thursday, as a href= https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/16/health/hhs-cdc-coronavirus-data-website/index.html target= _blank CNN /a reported. /p p Going forward, HHS and CDC will deliver more powerful insights on the coronavirus, powered by HHS Protect, said Caputo. HHS Protect is the department s coronavirus information center. /p p CDC officials were reluctant to maintain the dashboard if they were no longer receiving first-hand information. The dashboard shows the number of people with COVID-19, the number affected by SARS-COV2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) and hospital bed capacity. The CDC dashboard states that its information comes directly from hospitals and does not include data submitted to other entities contracted by or within the federal government. It also says the dashboard will not be updated after July 14. /p p This file will not be updated after July 14, 2020 and includes data from April 1 to July 14, the CDC said, as a href= https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/16/us-coronavirus-data-has-already-disappeared-after-trump-administration-shifted-control-from-cdc-to-hhs.html target= _blank CNBC /a reported. /p p The a href= https://www.cdc.gov/nhsn/covid19/report-patient-impact.html target= _blank website /a directs users to the HHS a href= https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/covid-19-faqs-hospitals-hospital-laboratory-acute-care-facility-data-reporting.pdf target= _blank new guidelines /a for reporting data. /p p As The Washington Post noted, the CDC site had been one of the few public sources of granular information about hospitalizations and ICU bed capacity. About 3,000 hospitals, or about 60 percent of U.S. hospitals, reported their data to the CDC s system. /p p Now the new requirements have hospitals and state officials in a bind. At least some state health departments that have been collecting data for their hospitals and sending it to Washington have already said the switch will make it impossible for them to continue, at least for now, according to The Washington Post. /p p The changed protocol includes a requirement that hospitals send several additional types of data that some state systems are not equipped to handle, state health officials said, as The Washington Post reported. /p p The reporting change is a heavy lift for hospitals, said Charles L. Gischlar, spokesman for the Maryland Department of Health to The Washington Post. He added that the new system exceeds the capacity of the current statewide system. /p From Your Site Articles Trump Admin Rejects CDC Reopening Guidelines - EcoWatch Coronavirus and the Terrifying Muzzling of Public Health Experts ... Trump Orders Hospitals to Stop Sending COVID-19 Data to CDC ... Related Articles Around the Web White House Censors CDC Reopening Guidelines Trump gag of coronavirus official follows history of muzzling science ...

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