covid19

50 Years After The First Earth Day, We Are İn The Midst Of A Pandemic. And We Need Science More Than Ever. On April 22, 1970, 20 million people gathered in an event that became known as Earth Day to spread public awareness of the environment. The decade that followed saw some of America’s most popular and powerful environmental legislation, according to the Earth Day Network, including updates to the Clear Air Act and creation of the Clean Water Act, the Endangered Species Act and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. Now 50 years later  with global warming becoming an increasing menace  the need for science is again in the spotlight because of a global pandemic. “The pandemic provides unequivocal evidence of the dire consequences of government ignoring science," marine conservation biologist and environmental activist Rick Steiner said. Senator Tom Udall, D-New Mexico, said the public health crisis "offers us a number o...

Coronavirus at meatpacking plants worse than first thought, USA TODAY investigation finds Coronavirus closed Smithfield and JBS meatpacking plants. Many more are at risk. Operators may have to choose between worker health or meat in stores. Tyson Foods installed plastic barriers between worker stations at its meat and poultry plants to protect against transmission of the coronavirus. Arash of coronavirus outbreaks at dozens of meatpacking plants across the nation is far more extensive than previously thought, according to an exclusive review of cases by USA TODAY and the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting.  And it could get worse. More than 150 of America’s largest meat processing plants operate in counties where the rate of coronavirus infection is already among the nation’s highest, based on the media outlets’ analysis of slaughterhouse locations and county-level COVID-19 infection rates. These facilities represent more than 1 in 3 of the nation’s...

Divisions On Battling Coronavirus Deepen As Trump And Southern States Push Opening  The fragile American consensus on battling the coronavirus is fracturing along bitter political fault lines, as early state openings threaten to undermine the nationwide effort to slow the pandemic. Divisions have emerged along a timeworn North vs. South divide, on ideological and geographical grounds nationally and within states, and on the level of respect accorded by political leaders to epidemiological science. The hope for a unified front is further undermined by a President heaping pressure on governors, supporting protests that flout social distancing and a White House that declined Tuesday to strongly stand up for its own guidelines on a safe reopening. The result is a mess of mixed messages and conflicting logic on opening up that calls into doubt President Donald Trump's claims he backs a "beautiful puzzle" of science based returns to ...

Earth Day: Coronavirus Crisis Offers Big Green Opportunity Economic disruptions caused by COVID-19 lockdowns present a unique environmental moment for action on climate change. Roads leading into downtown Los Angeles are emptier than usual during morning rush hour as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues [File: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters] Coronavirus-induced constraints on public and private budgets threaten the Paris Climate Agreement and its environmental goals embraced by a majority of countries on Earth Day four years ago. The economic dislocations caused by lockdowns imposed to contain the pandemic have drastically - and temporarily - reduced the world's carbon emissions, particularly from cars, planes and manufacturing. Yet the challenge of reversing global warming looms large as ever, say climate experts who want governments and companies to use today’s large-scale social disruption as an opportunity to enact stimulus measures consistent with t...

The Spanish Refugee Rescuers Now Helping İn Nursing Homes As Spain battles epidemic, volunteers who usually save people at sea now helping on country's coronavirus front lines. Workers at the Spanish NGO Open Arms pictured during a visit to a nursing home in Barcelona, Spain [Jose Colon/Al Jazeera] Madrid, Spain -  They are used to saving refugees from the seas, but now, Spanish rescuers are using their expertise to help in the coronavirus pandemic. Volunteers from Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms are taking patients who have tested positive with the novel coronavirus to hospitals and helping staff in care homes, where thousands of frail elderly residents have died. The NGO is also working with homeless refugees and migrants to try to find them accommodation. "They say that this virus is blind and it will affect everyone equally but that is not true," Mar Sabe, a volunteer, told Al Jazeera. "When you are living rough and you have nowhere to live in ...

Could Coronavirus Save The Planet By Changing Economics Forever? The focus on economic growth has led us to the brink of ecological disaster, of which the pandemic may be a foretaste. Activities such as large-scale commercial logging are destroying natural habitats, bringing humanity into closer contact with reservoirs of potentially lethal pathogens [File: Bruno Kelly/Reuters] Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -  While working from my home on the outskirts of the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, a month ago, focused on the unfolding crash in world financial markets and economies due to the coronavirus pandemic, I saw one of two 50-foot palm trees in the garden also come crashing down. The tree had been planted by the previous owners of the house, possibly around 30 years ago. On closer inspection, it became clear that its roots had simply outgrown the soil under them. Wednesday sees the world mark the 50th annual Earth Day, a call by concerned citizens and activists for ...

In Central African Republic, a colossal struggle against COVID-19 Before dawn in a suburb recovering from war, Fanny Balekossi awakes and heads into the centre of Bangui. A radio broadcaster specialising in health issues, Balekossi survived years of sectarian fighting in the Central African Republic (CAR) during which her older sister and close friends perished. Now, she is facing a new struggle to pull her country back from the brink once more. In a studio at Radio Ndeke Luka, CAR's most popular station, Balekossi puts on her headphones, turns on the mic and begins speaking to her listeners in a country that the United Nations calls one of the least prepared to cope with a coronavirus outbreak. "Welcome to your Health Magazine show," she says in her gentle, reassuring tone. "Today we're talking about the importance of handwashing during this health crisis that is rocking the world. " From hygiene tips to interviews with top medics, Balekossi...