It took some time to wrap my brain around this concept but I’m excited to use this to branch out and learn more about how we measure inequality, and to that end, be able to speak to pollution and other environmental burdens on communities that make them more vulnerable than others. If anyone has literature they want to suggest to me on this, I’m all ears!
If this is what gets someone into planting trees, I’m all for it. Native trees and shrubs, please!
Excellent write up. Dense with info and very thoughtfully written to be really entertaining and purposefully insightful.
My colleague introduced me to the term Traditional Ecological Knowledge today, which is very reminiscent of what you’re describing. This should be standard practice to learn everywhere!
If I can give you any small kernel of hope, there are a lot of people in the world, including non profits, government workers, community champions, and people that talk to their friend networks about living for and facilitating a more sustainable and respectful life on this planet - that care about people and the environment, and are fighting every day of their lives, dedicated to mitigation and adaptation regarding climate change. They may not have very much power, but they are surely standing up right now against this brain drain, and I feel confident that the tide will eventually turn. Will it be in the time we need it to? Absolutely not, but all is not lost.
It’s happening - people are tired of the bullshit and are putting differences aside to tackle the world’s foremost problem that we know how to solve. I’m so grateful, and despite the dumpster fire that is the US government right now, there’s so much hope to be found here!
I really enjoyed this article and had no idea that the Tamaulipan forest was even a thing. It’s encouraging to see that there are efforts to reforest the area; I hope that the areas not yet seeded aren’t repurposed for development. It seems like building our urban centers in the RGV more densely, perhaps rezoning single family for mixed use, could be helpful to prevent urban sprawl there, as Texas is notorious for that. I’m encouraged to support the efforts there, and hope this chaos of current disinvestment in our climate mitigation/adaptation is only a tiny blip in our future of stewarding the lands.
We really should be doing more to get kids outdoors to see what it could be - get them to nature preserves, into environmental education programs, and internships that get them into tree planting, soil and water testing, and get them excited to learn about the natural world before we lose more of it. I’ve seen with my own eyes how impactful those can be on the trajectory of their careers, and it makes for an incredible, well-rounded experience for them that can build lasting friendships with humans and the ecosystem alike.
Cyclists have known this and promoted this idea for years. There’s just so few protections for them in the legal system in practice, and on the flip side, so few consequences for drivers that harm cyclists and pedestrians. That’s one of the things that keeps people away that are even remotely interested in cycling as transportation. That’s not to mention the lack of interest/funding in cycling infrastructure.
This article needs to go to all my teacher friends. And I need to distribute some of those red cards!
Hell yeah! Great work!
It’s also a sign of people everywhere championing the truth. This gives me hope!
I’m still sick to my stomach over the murder of Tortuguita, and every wrongful death, arrest, and demonization campaign of people that are doing what’s right for the public good. All I can give is my utmost support and adoration for those defending our rights as humans on this planet, and for our environment. Despite this, I know good will continue to propagate and prevail. We know we are gaining momentum when they start with these bullshit tactics. I’ll be here, practicing radical hope.
Can’t help but praise all the journalists and whistleblowers in history and now that have met their demise by speaking truth to power and lifting the veil of untruth for people to see. That which is done in the dark will eventually come to the light. The sacrifice made by those that do this work for the public good are a beacon of hope for me, and they have my respect and thanks. Now it’s about strength in numbers…
Solidarity! Let’s continue the Labor movement for all workers everywhere!
Well that doesn’t bode well for places experiencing an Urban Heat Island effect. They’ll need shade provided by trees now more than ever.
Research in this field is only going to get more precise so long as public interest and demand remains. The best part about studying atmospheric phenomena is that we learn about systems that affect huge swaths of the earth, so it benefits everyone to be able to predict them. As we saw with Hurricane Helene (just looking at a recent US storm for example), weather events are only going to be more unpredictable as climate change accelerates, and the supply chain is affected by every one of these storms each time, not to mention the untold damage to the entire area. As long as we continue to stay on top of learning, we can update our climatological models and thus forecasts for weather. It’s still less expensive overall to act and adapt rather than not.
This is one of the most awful environmental disasters. Some of that footage is really valuable. I’m so sad that the residents have yet to receive justice, and they likely won’t ever truly be made whole again.
An international Environmental Justice mandate would be simply incredible. I hope this idea catches on 💚
I love the point made about grassroots movements already doing good work for the community, and the entities controlling public land won’t allow tax payers to allocate a portion of public lands for planting. There should be a checklist of approved stuff you can plant, managed by the municipality, and that checklist should be available in multiple languages. I understand you shouldn’t just be able to plant whatever (if not food, then no non-native/invasive species), and there shouldn’t be harmful pesticide use to some extent, but given the amount of people living in food apartheids with no access to fresh produce, it seems like the least effort, humane thing to allow.
The water thing is not overblown if you consider that data centers will only use potable water and will not be able to use treated water. Per just one of many studies:
With climate change and the exacerbation of droughts around the world, this puts any source of fresh surface or groundwater at risk of drying up.
This is a growing environmental justice issue (and data centers encourage further energy poverty that I haven’t even addressed, much less the increasing ratio of usage for industry vs residential), and to ignore that we as humans cannot replenish or increase freshwater supplies with any meaningful scale to support life, this becomes a dire issue.
I for one would much rather have water and affordable energy for communities.