Global weirding demands greater civic responsibility
** News of the world environment
------------------------------------------------------------
NEWSLETTER | MARCH 3, 2023
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
** The Cold Margins
------------------------------------------------------------
Two weeks ago, a commissioner for Portland, Oregon, ordered one of the city’s first response teams to cease the distribution of tarps and tents to people sleeping outdoors. The commissioner, Rene Gonzalez, oversees the Portland Street Response ([link removed]) team, first responders who focus on those experiencing mental illness or homelessness. He said he had made the order in response to a number of recent tent and tarp-related fires, which put neighborhoods at risk.
A week later came the cold. Like much of the Western US, Portland experienced heavy winter weather. The city was buried in snow. People abandoned their vehicles, and buses abandoned their routes. Portland’s unhoused were encouraged to seek the shelter of warming centers set up by the city. So far, two deaths have been reported and linked to the storm in the city.
Still, that statistic does little to measure the amount of suffering that thousands of people just endured. Throughout the region, unhoused people were cold, shivering, and near hypothermia — a painful, miserable experience. And while it is not possible to link every weather event to climate change, this latest winter storm was a sharp reminder that our civic systems need to be enhanced and made more flexible as we move toward an uncertain future.
A longer view confirms a pattern of unraveling. Hurricanes, heat waves, snow storms, coastal flooding — we will experience these over and over again, with increasing frequency and intensity. A pandemic creates an economic slump; people lose homes. Cold hits, and suffering ensues. I think about these things, watching the news, wondering whether the city planners of the world are thinking the same. These events demand big-picture, long-view thinking — the kind of thinking that considers providing shelter and giving aid, rather than taking it away. Let this whacky weather be a reminder of that.
As the cold continues, consider your neighbors. Stay warm, stay safe, and, above all, stay empathetic.
Brian Calvert
Associate Editor, Earth Island Journal
P.S. Our Spring print issue ([link removed]) is out. Check it out and, if you haven't already, do support our work by buying a subscription ([link removed]) .
Frost detail photo by chris riebschlager ([link removed])
TOP STORIES ()
[link removed]
** De-Jungled Jaguars ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
The world’s best jaguar habitat is already receding. Scientists fear a slew of new development projects might cause the Pantanal to disappear altogether.
READ MORE ([link removed])
Are you in? Earth Island Journal is a nonprofit, and we're looking for 75 new donors to the Green Journalism Fund.
As a nonprofit, Earth Island Journal is driven by purpose, not profit. We have no billionaire benefactors. We rely on the support of people like you. Can we count on you to donate to the Green Journalism Fund?
Yes, I'll support the Green Journalism Fund ([link removed])
[link removed]
** Bootstrap Sustainability ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Tired of waiting for essential services to come to them, residents of this favela in Rio de Janeiro built their own sewage treatment and solar power systems.
READ MORE ([link removed])
[link removed]
** Good Migrations ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
New in coral conservation: Researchers are finding that coral planted in deeper water can have higher survival rates than those planted in shallower water.
READ MORE ([link removed])
ICYMI ()
[link removed]
** Frod and Friends ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
Interspecies friendship. Ecology meets technology. Crowd-sourcing. There’s much to love about Frod and all his friends.
More here» ([link removed])
Photo of green frog (not Frod)
by Yamanaka Tamaki ([link removed])
[link removed]
** A Drop of Beauty ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
“Perfectly round, glistening balls of pee” that you can fling into the air? Sometimes, even excreta can spark joy.
Read more » ([link removed])
Photo courtesy of Georgia Institute of Technology
** Send this to a friend:
------------------------------------------------------------
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fee13b8036700%2Fgrowing-change-13364376 Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Fee13b8036700%2Fgrowing-change-13364376)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
**
------------------------------------------------------------
Did a thoughtful friend forward you our newsletter? Keep up with the latest from Earth Island Journal!
** SIGN UP TODAY ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
============================================================
** Like the Journal ([link removed])
** Like the Journal ([link removed])
** Tweet our Stories ([link removed])
** Tweet our Stories ([link removed])
** Follow us on Instagram ([link removed])
** Follow us on Instagram ([link removed])
You are receiving this email newsletter because you signed up on our website.
If this newsletter was forwarded to you, you can ** si ([link removed])
** gn up ([link removed])
** to the email newsletter ([link removed])
** here ([link removed])
** . ([link removed])
Support our work by ** subscribing ([link removed])
** to our quarterly print magazine ([link removed])
.
Copyright © 2023 Earth Island Journal, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you opted in via our website.
Our mailing address is:
Earth Island Journal
2150 Allston Way Ste 460
Berkeley, CA 94704-1375
USA
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
.
Email Marketing Powered by Mailchimp
[link removed]
